


Between The Years

by agentwhalesong



Series: Throughout The Years [2]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Introspection, MSR, One Shot Collection, Tagged explicit for two smut pieces
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-06-30 09:28:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 27,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19850302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentwhalesong/pseuds/agentwhalesong
Summary: A collection of one shots that were supposed to be in another fic I wrote (the one that is linked here). Although you don't need to read that one first to understand the stories in these, it might be a good idea to read both simultaneously to make your reading experience more complete. Both these and the stories in the first fic are canon compliant.





	1. Delirious

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone! It's been a while since I last posted anything, but this has been sitting in my computer for almost an entire year now and I decided it was time for it to see the light of day.  
> These are all independent stories and the chapters are not connected to each other, although they are posted in chronological order.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder's thoughts (of Scully) as he drives home in "Tooms".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This first story should have been included after [Chapter 1 of Throuought The Years](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/31944372), but since the feelings I describe here might contradict (or even repeat) a few things I wrote in chapter 2, I decided to leave it out of the original fic.  
> Also, Throughout The Years has been reviewed and corrected, so if you read it when it was still a WIP and want to read the reviewed chapters simultaneously with the ones in this fic, I'll post the links to the corresponding chapters in the original fic so it's more complete in a way.
> 
> I sincerely hope you enjoy it! ♥

**Delirious**

_I wouldn’t put myself on the line for anybody but you._

How fast things change, he thought, a small smile surprising him as he drove home through empty streets and avenues.

Why was he smiling? His subconscious was telling him he knew why, but his conscious mind wouldn’t let him see the truth, or even make an effort to see it all a little clearer.

Oh god, he was indeed delirious. Scully took over that stakeout right on time.

Scully.

He would be lying if he said he hadn’t been curious about her since she first stepped into his office. No, no, it was even before that. He had been curious about her from the moment her file happened upon his table as a reminder that he was going to get a partner he didn’t ask for. Why was she being sent to spy on him when she had so many remarkable credentials? Why now? He had had these and many other questions running around his brain at the time, but the most important one came after they were formally introduced: Why did her first handshake and her kind introductory smile unexpectedly send a jolt of energy throughout his body? He had been so taken aback by that feeling that he had buried it into the back of his mind, so deeply that it only surfaced in times like this, when he was too sleepy to fight it.

He sped through another traffic light and was just a few blocks away from home. It wouldn’t be long now until his couch would welcome him into its comfortable arms and make him forget whatever it was that his mind was making him feel. He couldn’t quite describe it, but the random thoughts were a mixture of gratitude, tenderness, and, at the same time, restlessness. He couldn’t recall feeling all that simultaneously before her.

He remembered his gut feeling when he met her, a feeling that told him she would mean more to him than he could imagine at the time. It had been a hunch, some kind of premonition he shook away as fast as he could, before his mind could process it properly. He thought it was ironic that he seemed to have started trusting his intuition a lot more after she made her way into his life, since she was the one always trying to make him see things through science and facts instead of trusting the unseen world or whatever his theories were always based on.

She was his perfect opposite in that sense, always on the opposite end of everything, always holding the other end of the rope to keep things in order, to keep his work in order. Having passed the initial fear that she was actually there to spy on him, he was now very thankful for the gift the FBI had unknowingly given him.

He couldn’t help wondering sometimes if she thought the same of him, which brought him back to the reason why he had a smile on his face.

_I wouldn’t put myself on the line for anybody but you._

It had come as a surprise for he wasn’t used to seeing this side of her, this side that was brutally honest about her feelings. Did his surprise show when he stupidly replied with “If there is an iced tea in that bag, it could be love”?

Where had that come from, anyway? And where would have their conversation gone if she had indeed brought iced tea?

He didn’t mean love in the romantic sense of the word, of course not, but love in any form was not exactly a feeling he was used to. In his mind, love always came hand in hand with pain, and he wondered if her friendship was life’s way of telling him that it was not always like that.

He pulled over and parked at his usual spot in front of his apartment building, making a mental note to call her before falling asleep just to make sure she was going to be okay out there all by herself. Was it really the reason why he wanted to call her, though?

Scully confused him for she made him think stuff like that; she made him wonder - for the first time in his adult life - what other people thought of him, or more specifically, what _she_ thought of him.

Did she see him as a paranoid lunatic hidden in the basement by his superiors as a precaution, not because he might uncover truths that might bring the government down, but as a way of preventing him from scaring the actual normal people trying to work and live their normal lives? Did she see him the way he saw himself? Did she see something he didn’t? Sometimes it was hard to believe that she kept choosing him every time even though life gave her other chances and other paths to follow. It was not every day that someone chose to keep working with him even when she was offered the chance of being transferred to another division and being with the real living people; it was certainly not every day that someone chose him over a date with a guy that she seemed to like.

He chuckled at the memory. He knew he should have felt bad about her dumping the guy who could potentially make her happy, but eventually it was her choice and he was secretly happy with her decision, even though he couldn’t really figure out why. Or could he?

His own chuckle was what woke him from his reverie and made him realize he was still sitting in his car. Did he really have to walk up all the way to his apartment? Maybe the car would be comfortable enough for the night. If Scully saw or heard him right now, she would probably put on a cute face and pretend to roll her eyes before saying, “Mulder, you’re crazy”. This thought gave him another round of flashbacks to their second case together, to how comfortable they already felt with each other, to how their banter started really out of nowhere. Sometimes it really seemed like they’d known each other since the beginning of times.

_You’re delirious. Go home and get some sleep._

Her voice inside his head was strong now, so he got out of the car and shut the door behind him.

It was funny how her voice stayed with him even after she was gone.

Delirious, that he was.

Only delirious Mulder would spend more than a few seconds thinking about all the times it seemed like he and Scully knew each other from past lives and beyond; only delirious Mulder wouldn’t stop himself from thinking of his partner as cute; only delirious Mulder would be so confused to the point he would drive home and then sit in his car thinking about Scully and what her friendship meant to him. He couldn’t help wondering if she thought about him too or if his voice followed her around even after he was gone. He also wondered if she was still thinking about why he laughed at her for calling him Fox.

He opened his front door and threw his car keys onto the table, his coat following suit and falling haphazardly onto a nearby chair.

Before he walked to the couch, he decided to open the fridge for his throat was suddenly dry. As dried up as his fridge, apparently, because there was only one bottle right in the middle, one single bottle that suddenly brought back a smile to his face and her voice to his head once again.

_It must be fate, Mulder. Root beer._

He took the bottle and walked to the couch, picking up the phone as he passed by it. He pressed number one on his speed dial as he sat.

“Is everything okay, Mulder?”

Her voice was a little dragged and he pictured her rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, I just wanted to make sure everything is okay there.”

“Yeah, Mulder. It’s the same as when you left 20 minutes ago. You should be in bed already.”

He chuckled and fought the urge to reply that he didn’t have a bed. She certainly knew that by now. Which reminded him…

“Hey, Scully?” He took a sip of his beverage as he waited for her ‘go ahead’ signal.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry I laughed when you called me Fox.” There was something similar to static on the other end and he could vividly picture her head moving slightly, as she shook her head to say she didn’t mind. He wondered if she too forgot he couldn’t see her because she was also picturing him vividly in front of her.

He cleared his throat before continuing.

“It’s just that… sometimes, I feel like I’ve known you my entire life and I forget that there are things about me you don’t know yet.”

He felt his cheeks warm up and he was glad she couldn’t see him, although he couldn’t really understand why he was blushing in the first place.

There was a moment of silence, but he knew she was still there. He heard a sound as if she were swallowing and then he heard her voice.

“I have the same feeling sometimes, that I’ve always known you…”

He could hear some sort of hesitation in her voice, but he could also almost hear a smile.

“Is that iced tea you’re drinking, Scully?”

She chuckled.

“Root beer.”

He raised his bottle as if proposing a toast.

“Same here.”

“What happened to your love of iced tea?”

“I prefer root beer now.”

He could see her smiling, even if she wasn’t really in front of him.

“Iced tea, root beer… it’s all the same in the end.”

His mind escaped him for a fragment of a second and he drank from his bottle to try not to think about the meaning behind her words. He heard the sound of her swallowing once again and wondered if her mind had wandered to places it shouldn’t, too.

It was time to hang up before they let sleepiness and the words that usually came with it take over. He had one last thing to say, though.

“Thank you, Scully.”

“What for?”

“For… everything.”

She was silent for a couple of seconds and her voice was a little lower than before when she replied.

“Likewise.”

She hung up first, but he knew she did it only after she was sure no other words were necessary. He placed his bottle on the floor and lied down on the couch, feeling the taste of root beer and love on his tongue. That night, he slept like he hadn’t slept in ages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want, you can now read [Chapter 2 of Throughout The Years](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/32119518), which deals with Scully's abduction, and [Chapter 3](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/33424341), which deals with a jealous Scully.


	2. Ghost Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder and Scully visit Melissa's grave. Another very introspective story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally supposed to be Chapter 3 of Throughout The Years, but I was fighting a huge writer's block at the time and decided to go with something else for that fic. I mention the chapter I went with briefly in this story, so I'll link it in the text for those of you who want to (re)read it.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it! ♥

**Ghost Deal**

They had established a routine of visiting Melissa’s grave every week. It was a wordless agreement that had started when she needed a ride once and he just started tagging along after that, as if he too was part of her family, as if he owed her at least that. She never complained or asked him to give her time alone with her sister; in fact, he had a feeling that she welcomed him, that she waited for him to join her, that his presence was some kind of comfort to her.

So, he went to the cemetery with her every week, taking a bouquet of flowers along, trying to redeem himself for something he had accidently caused, trying to talk to Melissa somehow and say that he was sorry. Because he was sorry, sorrier than he could ever express. He knew the younger Scully sister blamed herself, but he was truly the one to blame in the end. He was the one who had dragged Dana into all of this, and now Melissa was dead because of it. He wondered if there was really an afterlife and if Melissa was looking down, laughing at him for trying to communicate with her when he was all so skeptic about a higher power (which was very contradictory to his belief in ghosts, now that he thought of it). He smiled to himself at this thought. He didn’t know Melissa aside from their brief encounter when her sister was in the hospital, but by the way Dana talked about her, he had a feeling they would have gotten along if he had had the chance to know her better. Maybe they would have even been friends. Was he a jerk for having a two-second thought about Scully being jealous if he and her sister became friends?

[He caught a glimpse of what jealous Scully looked like just a couple of weeks ago](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/33424341) and he had to be honest - he was selfishly amused by that. He didn’t know exactly what had changed about her feelings towards him, but he knew _something_ had changed. He couldn’t act on this knowledge, though, for he couldn’t afford losing her in case he had misinterpreted things. So, he kept things at a platonic level, pretending he didn’t feel anything, pretending she didn’t show him she felt anything either, preferring to believe that what was there was just unconditional friendship and nothing else.

He watched from a few feet away as Dana deposited the flowers she had brought onto her sister’s grave and closed her eyes the way she always did. She usually stayed like that for a moment, a sign that she was praying, a way for her to seek inner peace while also hoping her sister was in peace. But this time something different happened: a smile spread across her face suddenly, as if something had changed while she prayed. He hoped she was beginning to find peace again, for that was one of the things he tried to ask Melissa to grant her, as if Melissa were some sort of entity who could actually do that. It was ridiculous when he thought about it, but he couldn’t stand to see his assigned Scully so broken for much longer. Not that she showed, she hardly ever did, but sometimes he saw it in her eyes, in the way she tried to laugh but only a weak smile came out, in the silence that sometimes reigned in the room when anything remotely related to her sister was mentioned. For that reason, asking invisible (and maybe inexistent) forces to help her was not out of the question. This was something he had learned from Melissa while Dana was lying in a hospital bed fighting for her life: maybe there were forces at work they didn’t or couldn’t understand. Not that he truly believed that, but it couldn’t hurt to try, right? Dana was back in the living world against all odds, after all, and who knew if his longing to have her back wasn’t one of the reasons why she had lived?

He observed as his Scully opened her eyes now and looked at her feet for a while before turning her head to look at him.

She had a serene expression, almost as if all her worries had suddenly vanished.

“Do you think she’s watching over us, Mulder?”

He walked the few feet that separated them and unconsciously reached for her hand, trying not to put too much thought into the fact that their fingers automatically intertwined, as if it were the most natural thing to do.

“I really hope she is.”

He wondered if one day he would have the chance of telling Dana that Melissa was the one to make him admit to himself that his feelings for her were a little different than the feelings he had first thought he had. He didn’t want his mind to wander that far, to that very remote possibility and future where they were close enough for him to tell her things like this, but he couldn’t help it sometimes. Maybe he was deeper in love with her than he cared to admit.

They both looked at Melissa’s grave and stayed silent for another minute. He didn’t know what was going on in Dana’s mind, but his mind was searching for ways of honoring Melissa’s memory somehow. Finding who killed her was not enough, would never be enough, but maybe taking care of her sister would come close to at least making her proud, wherever she was.

He gently stroked Scully’s thumb with his own as a way of confirming his thoughts, his touch being the seal to that unspoken but very real deal with the ghost Melissa left behind.

“Ready?”

Scully nodded, wiping away a remaining tear with the index finger of her free hand.

She unlaced their fingers and turned around, but he was surprised to find her hand making his way back into his when they started to walk back to the car.

He had a feeling that whatever had happened to make her smile just a while ago was the same thing that drove her hand into his. Maybe Melissa was listening to his thoughts after all. Maybe Dana’s hand in his was Melissa’s way of saying she agreed to the terms of the deal he proposed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want, you can now read [Chapter 4 of Throughout The Years](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/33565791), which deals with Scully's cancer, and [Chapter 5](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/33754389), which can give you a sugar high and talks about Mulder and Scully dancing to the sound of Cher.


	3. Bees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're back from Antarctica and Mulder is still thinking about certain events that happened before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you might recognize a few words while reading this chapter/story because I originally wrote it on [Chapter 6 of Throughout The Years](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/33970047). After someone pointed out that the chapter was slightly confusing/misleading, I realized that they were right and decided to rewrite that part. So this chapter/story was basically born out of the words that I removed from the original fic.
> 
> I particularly like this one, so I hope you'll enjoy it as well. =)

**Bees**

He was looking at her from across the room, hoping she wouldn’t notice. She didn’t seem to. He couldn’t help it, he was still replaying the events of the previous weeks in his head – the bomb, their visit to corn fields in the middle of the desert, Scully’s transfer notice, the kiss that could have been… His thoughts were specifically stuck in this very last part.

Since it all happened, he had started thinking about his motivations, why he had suddenly found the courage to do what had always been in his mind but that he had never done before for fear of the consequences - If she said she didn’t feel the same, their partnership might be ruined; if she reciprocated, their partnership could also be at stake. Their partnership and the FBI were in the middle, and that was why he had never tried anything before that day.

But on that day, the FBI had finally found a way of splitting them up for good, and she was going to leave. He remembered thinking how crazy it was that he had almost lost her so many times to abduction, to monsters, to cancer, to rebel alien races – in short, to death -, but that what was actually going to take her away from him was life and its unwelcome surprises. His half-drunk decision to go to her apartment at 3 o’clock in the morning that day had come out of the feeling that he had to stop life from taking her away from him, that he had to find the proof she and the FBI needed to make her stay. And as she was easily persuaded into going to a place where corn crops grew in the middle of nowhere, he thought then that she too was unconsciously hopeful for the same thing.

But the proof they did find was not enough and, as night turned into day and the FBI reaffirmed their choice of splitting them up, Scully reaffirmed hers - she was going to quit, she was going to go back to medicine, she was going to live a completely different life that didn’t involve him in any way because she thought there was nothing left for her. Even now, that everything was okay, thinking about it still hurt. Her decision had been the true motivator, the trigger for the words that came out of his mouth right in his hallway, the clarity that his mind needed to take a shot. If his words hadn’t registered in her brain, maybe a kiss would. Maybe a kiss would tell her that he considered it more than a professional loss if she left, maybe that would be enough reason for her to stay.

What followed then was the loop-memory in which his thoughts were stuck now, as he saw it all in his mind as vividly as if it were happening just now. The way he leaned forward slowly, just in case she decided it was not what she wanted, how her eyes told him that yes, it was exactly what she wanted, how she leaned forward, too, just as slowly as he did, as if considering the consequences in those fractions of moments that separated their lips, and then…

He still felt like laughing as he remembered that a bee had decided their fate for them. A fucking bee! He hated insects in general, but since then, bees had been at the top of his most-hated-insects list.

And then Antarctica happened, they came back surprisingly safe (although not so sound), there were more hearings, the X-Files were reopened… All sorts of things happened in the period of a week, but the kiss that could have been had had no place in their conversations since the day it almost happened. He was now wondering if it had all been in his head, that what he had seen as mutual feelings in her eyes that day were no more than his mind making him see what he wanted to see. Maybe if the bee hadn’t been there, she would have turned her head away at the last second anyway. Maybe she would have let it happen, but then say whatever that was couldn’t happen again. And then their partnership would have been compromised and his gut feeling would have been right all along. Maybe it was for the best that they didn’t talk about it.

He startled as her voice reached his ears, bringing him back to the present. He wasn’t expecting any sound at all in this quiet, filled-with-tension room.

“Mulder, you have been staring at me for, like, an entire hour. When are you going to let me in your thoughts? It’s starting to get uncomfortable.”

She said all this with her eyes still glued to the file in front of her, as if the information there were too important for her to stop reading.

He sat up straight, clearing his throat.

“Just thinking about the case, that’s all. I didn’t realize I was staring, sorry.”

She just took a quick glance at him with something resembling a smirk on her lips. She looked back at her file and he thought she was going to drop the subject, so her voice surprised him again.

“You were thinking about the case, huh? I never saw you so interested in manure before.”

Why again did he think she was going to believe something like that? Also, now that he thought of it, when did he ever apologize for staring at her?

He felt his cheeks warm up and he was glad she wasn’t looking in his direction. Seeing him blush would only raise her suspicions even more.

Just as he thought of it, Scully turned her head again to properly look at him. Could she read his mind now? Her face was demanding an answer, and he just knew she wouldn’t let it go until he told her the truth. But how could he say the truth?

She kept staring at him, her legs crossed, the file resting on one of her thighs, her hands crossed on her lap.

“You really want to know what I was thinking? I was thinking about bees, Scully. Bees. Better than manure to you?”

He saw something in her eyes change, although he couldn’t pinpoint what exactly.

“Still weird, but when are you not thinking of weird stuff?”

She laughed at him, letting him off the hook, and then glanced at the clock as she prepared to return to her previous position.

“Oh no! I told mom I was going to pick her up at 5:30. She must be fuming! I’m 10 minutes late already. Could you do me a favor and drop this file at Kersh’s office before you leave, please?”

He nodded, remembering he still had his part of the report to write before going home. He was almost turning to his computer to start typing when her voice surprised him once again. She seemed a little hesitant, but she spoke every word of the sentence clearly.

“I think about bees, too, Mulder. More than I care to admit.”

And with that, she left, leaving behind only the sound of her clinking heels and his heart ready to jump out of his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want, you can now read [Chapter 6 of Throughout The Years](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/33970047), which deals with Mulder's memory of the kiss he and 1939 Scully shared, and [Chapter 7](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/34016870), which is set in season 7 and deals with their newly found relationship (It might be a good idea to read this one before you read Chapter 4 of this fic, but it's not mandatory).


	4. Full Circle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder can feel there's something different in the air.  
> Set before/during Requiem.  
> You can read [Chapter 7 of Throughout The Years](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/34016870) before this one, if you want. =)
> 
> Note: I almost always write within canon, so, even though I know most of you don't like the idea of Mulder being sick and not telling Scully, I include that storyline in my writing because it exists in the show. If you have something against it, just skip this chapter (although this is my personal favorite)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always wanted to know Mulder's feelings about his disease and what went on in his mind right before his abduction, so I wrote my version of it in this chapter/story. It's not exactly connected to Throughout The Years, but it's an extra that should have been there.
> 
> Angst ahead!

**Full Circle**

_Early_

Sometimes, when he closed his eyes, he still saw flashes of the creature, of its sad eyes looking at him, begging him to stop his pain but doing what he needed it to do. Sometimes, he saw himself giving up on his last chance of being healed in order to save the creature that had suffered enough already and deserved his peace. Sometimes, when he closed his eyes, he saw Scully, her whole face beaming at him, not even dreaming of the secret he was keeping from her, thinking he would be around for at least a few more years. This last image was just as painful, for he knew how he would be feeling if she were keeping a secret like this from him.

Oregon brought additional things into his mind, and all through the night he couldn’t stop thinking not only about disease-eating monsters and his hopelessness, but also about how Scully’s life could have been different, about how it could still be different. She had the right to have a different life, she deserved to have a different life. He wished he could be there to either live it with her or to see it happen. He would be happy with either.

He turned his head slightly to look at her sleeping, peaceful face. As usual, her chin was resting on his shoulder as if this were the most comfortable position in the world. He smiled at her eccentricities and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, analyzing her features to try and slow down his thoughts. But even that wasn’t enough, and he kept thinking about all the possibilities that could have been but that now would just remain an idea in his head. He had many, many ideas, ideas he wouldn’t even have considered before her, but now… He was glad that at least he had kept those ideas to himself, too; that way, she would suffer a little less when his time came.

He wanted to tell her that he was sorry he was about to leave her and that he was sorry he didn’t tell her in advance but… how could he? He would have to tell her eventually, though, because time was running out. At some point in the next month, his brain would stop controlling his motor functions, he would lose his ability to eat, to drink, to breathe… and then his whole body would just shut down completely. His memory was starting to play tricks on him already, and it was sad to see the part he liked most about his brain go away like that. It hurt him to realize that she would have to see all this, to see his life wither away right in front of her eyes. She was a strong woman, but he knew this was going to break her. He wished there was a way for her to be away from it all, a way to hide from her so she wouldn’t have to suffer by seeing him suffering. But he knew her too well, she would go to the ends of the Earth to find him and she would stay with him until the end, no matter what. He felt like crying for the both of them.

Her right arm was sprawled across his chest and he stroked its length softly, trying to memorize this feeling and hoping that this, at least, wouldn’t escape his mind in his final moments. He loved it when she was peacefully sleeping in the comfort of his arms, like the world didn’t matter for those few hours they managed to stay together. The love that emanated from her sleeping figure was what prevented his tears from falling.

He looked at the clock on her bedside table just to confirm that he had indeed spent almost the whole night awake and now there was no time to try and sleep again. And even if there was, he knew his eyes would close and the same images as before would return.

He sighed, regretting having to leave the comfort of Scully’s warmth to go out into the usually cold morning. He moved carefully to try not to wake her but, without opening her eyes, she gripped his side.

“Stay a little longer.”

He smiled, stroking her cheek.

“It’s almost time for work and I need to go home to change.”

She smiled and then kissed his shoulder. She didn’t protest because this was their dynamic and they knew the rules and the consequences of sleeping together on a regular workday.

He kissed her forehead before getting out of bed, trying to also imprint this moment in his memory in a way it could never be removed. He didn’t know what it was, but something was different about this morning. He had a feeling something was about to change.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Later_

He had spent the whole flight thinking about that hug right outside Skinner’s office, about his words to her, about her words to him. Their hug was tight, long, warm, comforting, but it had also felt like goodbye. Why had it felt like goodbye? Was it possible that his doctors were wrong about how much time he still had to live? As much as he tried not to think about it, he still did.

He had sent Scully a text message as soon as they landed. It was not like them to do things like this, but he felt he needed to do it this time.

_Skinner is no fun to travel with. Missing you already._

They were now in their rental car, Skinner driving fast through the roads so they could reach the forest they needed before nighttime and he still couldn’t stop thinking about this weird feeling he had, a feeling that only got worse as they approached their destination.

He felt his phone vibrate inside his pocket and took it out, seeing that Scully had responded.

“The Gunmen are no fun either. Missing you too.”

And then there was another message she sent right after.

“P.S.: Please come home soon.”

He couldn’t help smiling when he read the first, but her last message told him she was also feeling something was different. She had never said something like this before.

When he raised his eyes to the road, he saw that they had arrived at their destination. His anxiety only grew stronger as he got out of the car.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Too late_

When he crossed the invisible barrier in the middle of the forest, he just knew. He couldn’t explain exactly how, but he knew. It all made sense now: his weird feeling, Scully’s possible weird feeling, the path that led him to where he first began. A damn full circle. This was the end of the line for him. It came without the loss of motor functions, without the loss of memory or a complete body shut down. It came in the shape of the truth he had always sought.

He thought it was funny that even the most absolute certainties sometimes weren’t that certain, that life and death were really the most unpredictable things in the universe.

He stepped forward slowly, walking almost as if he were being guided by the light that was beaming over the group of people in front of him. He knew that the beaming light was his true destination; he knew that the light wouldn’t let him run back to Skinner even if he had complete control over his body now.

He could feel Theresa tapping his shoulder lightly, as if welcoming him to the club of abductees, as if this were something good, but all he could think about was the life he was leaving behind. He couldn’t help the tears that moistened his eyes when he thought of Scully’s face, of the short time they had together, of the lifetime he would have wanted to spend with her if he had been given the chance. He felt really stupid for the time they spent apart when they could have been together.

He looked at all the other people in the group and wondered for a brief moment if they weren’t afraid. Because he was strangely fascinated by how things had turned out, but he was afraid.

He thought of Scully’s words, the ones she had said just this morning before he left the comfort of her bed and that, at the time, didn’t seem to hold much meaning. It made his heart ache to think that now even those words made sense. Would she ever forgive him? He mumbled the words that were in his mind, hoping that the same improbability that had brought the spaceship to where he stood would also make his words reach her ears.

_I wish I could stay a little longer, Scully._

He closed his eyes and a mixture of blue eyes, bright smiles and sprawled arms across his chest filled his mind, before he felt as if gravity didn’t exist, before his mind went completely blank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want, you can now read [Chapter 8 of Throughout The Years](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/34165625), which deals with Scully and Mulder's reunion after he comes back from the dead. There's a mention in it that will be the main topic of the next chapter in this fic.


	5. Mutual Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder and Maggie Scully have a conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! For those of you who haven't given up on me yet, here's another story I originally wrote as part of Throughout The Years, but ended up only mentioning parts of it on [Chapter 8](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/34165625) of that story.  
> Another fic was also born out of this idea and, even though not many people seem to like it, it is my favorite thing I've ever written. I'll link it in the end notes in case anyone wants to read it. =)
> 
> You are all so quiet that I don't know if you're enjoying these at all, but I hope you enjoy this chapter/story anyway. This one involves a conversation between Mulder and Maggie. Have fun! =D

**Mutual Feelings**

He slowed down as he turned on Scully’s street, already looking for a spot where he could park. He found one not that far, so he pulled over and turned the ignition off. As he got out of the car, he saw Margaret Scully getting out of the building. She saw him from across the street and smiled widely, and he suddenly realized how similar hers and her daughter’s smiles were. He smiled back and crossed the street. It was good to see her again after so long.

She met him on the sidewalk and enveloped him in a hug, one of those motherly hugs she had always saved for him. Although they didn’t see a lot of each other, he had a load of respect and love for the Scully mother and he knew the feeling was mutual. Margaret had always made him feel like he belonged to the family.

“It’s so good to see you again, Fox!”

She said, as she withdrew her arms and looked up at him again.

“It’s good to see you too, Mrs. Scully!”

She rolled her eyes, just like her daughter, and he almost laughed.

“Call me Maggie. How many times will I have to say that? You and Dana may have this strange last-name thing, but I don’t.”

He chuckled and was about to say goodbye, but she continued, a little hesitantly.

“Is Dana expecting you?”

“No... I was just in the neighborhood and I decided to come check on her.”

He wasn’t, in fact, in the neighborhood, but he didn’t want to admit that he had driven here all the way from his house without even calling first.

Margaret nodded.

“Would you mind walking me to my car before you go see her?”

He was puzzled, and he hoped his face didn’t show too much as he nodded.

They immediately started walking, slowly, as she tried to put her thoughts into words.

“Fox, I am so sorry for everything you’ve been through. I can’t even begin to imagine what it was like for you. I actually don’t understand it, to be honest, because Dana didn’t want to tell me the whole story but… what I want to say is that I am very happy that you are back.”

“Thank you. It’s good to know someone cares.”

Maybe he shouldn’t have said the last part, but now that it was out, he just hoped she would ignore it.

He was curious to see where this conversation was headed, but he didn’t want to ask her about the real reason why she had asked him to walk her to her car, so they were silent for a moment.

Maybe she hadn’t ignored his last comment after all, because she seemed to hesitate a little before speaking again.

“Do you remember when Dana was taken all those years ago?”

How could he forget? He nodded.

“Well, do you remember how you felt in her absence?”

He nodded again, still trying to figure out what she was getting at. He didn’t say anything, so she continued.

“Dana felt the same when you disappeared. The difference here is that, when she was found back then, she was alive. Barely, but alive. When she found you, you were dead.”

She stopped talking right there, letting the information sink in. Now he understood what she was trying to say.

“Look, Mrs. Scully, I…”

She shot him an amused look and he knew why.

“I’m sorry, I’m not used to calling you Maggie.”

She chuckled and then nodded. Then she looked straight ahead, and he assumed she felt better saying whatever she needed to say without looking him in the eye. She then continued.

“I don’t usually interfere in my children’s personal lives, and especially not in their relationships, but this time I felt the need to. Like I said, I have no idea how it must have been hard for you, but it was hard for Dana too. After we buried you, we visited your grave every week. She wanted to go alone the first time, but I wouldn’t let her drive for so long in the state she was. So, I went with her every week and watched from afar as she sat in front of your tombstone and talked to it as if she were talking to you. Sometimes she would talk for a whole hour, until her tears choked her and she couldn’t speak anymore. Then we would say a prayer for your spirit together and we would go home.”

She paused and took a deep breath before speaking again.

“One day, a couple of months after we buried you, she came to my house walking, her eyes were swollen from crying, and she kept repeating that she was tired of being in this dream where you never came back, that she was sure she was either dreaming or living in a parallel universe, and that she needed to find a way back to her own universe, the universe where you existed. Never had I seen her so sad, so desperate, so desolate. And that is a lot to say, considering that she has lost quite a few people who were dear to her along the years.”

She paused again and he assumed she had finished making her point. And a very good point, he would add, because his heart was now heavy with sadness and he hoped his eyes weren’t showing just how much. Apparently, they were, because, when she looked at him again, she seemed regretful.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to make you feel sad. I just wanted to let you know that it was hard for her too, probably harder than you think. And since you two seem to have a problem with communication and since Dana keeps everything so bottled up, I didn’t think she would willingly tell you about her side of the story.”

He smiled weakly at her through his tears. She was right, she was completely right. Hearing this from her made him realize that he hadn’t been treating Scully the way she deserved to be treated since he came back from the dead. He had been wallowing so much in his own suffering that he didn’t realize how much all of this was hurting her too, how much she was hurting without telling him because he simply wouldn’t open up to her. Apparently, the empathy side of his brain hadn’t been turned on yet.

“Thank you for telling me all this, Maggie, I really appreciate it.” Her given name came easily now, and he smiled at the realization.

She smiled at him and stopped. Then she cupped his face and stroked his cheeks with her thumbs, in a way that reminded him of his own mother.

“Just be good to each other, okay?”

He nodded, and Maggie let her arms drop to her side again.

“Well, this is my car. There weren’t any spots near Dana’s when I arrived, so I had to park here. Do you want me to walk back with you?”

He chuckled and then shook his head.

“It’s okay, I can find my way.”

_Now, in more ways than one_ , he thought.

She just smiled and walked over to the driver’s side. He waited until she had left to walk back to Scully’s.

He had come over with the intention of trying to find an answer to all his questions, even to the ones he didn’t know he had; he had come over to feel less of an outsider in her life, to try and reconnect even though he knew nothing could be as it was before. But now he saw that he was wrong in thinking that nothing could be as it once were. From what Maggie had just told him, her love for him was just the same as it had always been, if not stronger. He was slowly starting to feel like he belonged somewhere again.

He made a mental note to try and talk to Scully a little more in the future. They say that actions speak louder than words but, in their relationship, they had to put a little more effort into the talking part. A balance between actions and words would be nice for a change.

He only realized he was in front of Scully’s when he watched his own finger press the button to announce his arrival. But now that he was here, his smile was back on his face and he knew for certain that he was ready. It was time to end this suffering for once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story that was born out of this idea is [Could It Be Any Harder?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15858099/chapters/36939813), which is basically Scully's point of view of the whole thing and my favorite of all the things I've written.


	6. Photograph

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder is hiding, but he still thinks of Scully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was born out of a couple of things I mentioned on [Chapter 9 of Throughout The Years](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/34389593).  
> I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.  
> Also, thank you so much to the few of you who have been commenting. It's good to know my words are appreciated sometimes.
> 
> This chapter is called **Photograph** because of its content, but [Ed Sheeran's song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSDgHBxUbVQ) could also go well with this chapter.

**Photograph**

He had a hard time keeping track of what day it was sometimes, or what time of day it was. Living away from everybody was starting to take its toll on him, and he tried hard to keep thinking that there was a good reason why he was doing this. Whenever he got too lonely, he would turn to the one thing that could make him feel better, that could make him remember he was still part of the world.

He lay on his side and turned the picture between his fingers slightly, careful not to damage it in any way. She was laughing, oblivious to the man with the camera right in front of her. He had caught her in a moment of giggles, he remembered, in one of those rare days when she allowed herself to just be herself around him, without thinking of work and what it meant to be diving in a relationship with her best friend. She thought about this often, she would tell him sometimes, about how she never imagined that her life would change forever the day she stepped into his office and, later on, how she realized she had fallen in love with him.

He smiled at the picture, watching Scully in all her giggling glory, looking like nothing in the world could ever bring her down, and his brain immediately brought back the memories of that day and the reason for her laughter.

It was a joke, a very bad joke, but if he had known it would make her laugh like that, he would have told it sooner. She had been belly laughing for a few minutes and he was worried she was going to run out of air at any moment because, every time she tried to pull herself together and put on a serious face, she would suddenly remember it again and the giggle fit would start all over again. It was a contagious laugh, for he was laughing almost as much as she was. Almost. He just wasn’t laughing as hard as she was because, at some point in the past couple of minutes, he had started thinking that this moment should be immortalized in a way, that if he couldn’t stop time and make this moment last forever, then at least he could do something to remember this vividly later. He wondered how he would be able to do it without her noticing, though, because she would certainly try to change his mind if he told her what he was about to do. He knew Scully - she didn’t like to be in pictures much, which was why they had only a couple of pictures together even though they’d known each other for 7 years, and even those existed only because someone else had taken them without their knowledge while on a case.

Her laugh seemed to fade just as his thoughts took shape, and he cursed himself for not thinking about it sooner because now he was going to miss the moment. She raised her hands to her eyes and wiped a few tears that had gathered there for laughing so hard, and he thought that it was over, that she had stopped, and he had missed his chance. But then she turned her head towards him and apparently it was all she needed to start laughing again. She looked away once again in an attempt to control herself and he knew this was it: it was now or never.

He reached for the drawer on his bedside table and opened it carefully, praying she wouldn’t listen or notice. Then, he took his camera out slowly, afraid of breaking the spell she was under. After that, it became pretty easy to accomplish his goal because she wasn’t looking at him. She only realized what he had done when the flash hit her.

“Mulder, what are you doing?”

The smile was still on her face, but she had suddenly stopped laughing, as if being caught off guard in a picture was exactly what she had needed to make her giggling stop. He hoped she was not mad and that the picture would turn out good when he got the film developed. He hoped whoever was in charge of developing that film wouldn’t mind seeing a picture of a half-naked redhead lying on her back, her breasts covered by her bra and her shirt half open. Shit, maybe he should have asked her in advance.

She didn’t seem mad though, just curious.

“I rarely see you laugh like this, I just wanted to keep this moment somehow.”

He saw her face change and he wasn’t sure what her features were expressing, so he decided to add.

“If you don’t feel comfortable, I can just throw the film out.”

She shook her head, smiling again.

“I’m curious to see how it turns out.”

She reached out her hand and he held it, squeezing it a little and smiling back at her. She seemed to have a lot more on her mind though.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

She nodded. Then, after a few seconds of silence, she added.

“Is my laughter really that rare?”

He lowered himself and lay by her side again, facing her, leaving the camera between them.

“Maybe, but that’s what makes it all the more special.”

He smiled and she smiled back. Then, he kissed her cheek softly, closing his eyes and lingering there, the way he liked to do sometimes. There was something about kisses on the cheek that made his heart flutter.

He squinted when he saw the flash even behind his closed eyelids, but he couldn’t help smiling.

“Scully, what are you doing?”

“I think it’s about time we had a proper picture together.”

He chuckled happily while nibbling her jaw, his eyes still closed.

“I’m glad we both got what we wanted, but can we go back to what we were doing before you had a giggling fit?”

She let out a quick laugh before capturing his lips in hers slightly.

“You should have thought of that before telling me that joke,” she said, her lips brushing his while she spoke.

“Oh, Scully, but I did. And I think I really like the result of a bad, but well told joke.”

He kissed her neck and pulled her by the waist to bring her closer. Her voice was low when she spoke next.

“Do you think the person developing that film would mind the content if we took a few more?”

Her malicious tone didn’t go unnoticed. Naughty Scully rarely made an appearance, but when she did…

“Why again haven’t I told you a bad joke sooner?”

She laughed again as he cupped one of her breasts and ran his thumb through her nipple over her bra. She gasped.

“Shut up and make love to me, Mulder.”

“As you wish, my dear.”

She started laughing again at his words, but his tongue made her laughter turn into moans. He was glad he didn’t have to choose which sound he loved most because that would be an impossible choice.

He had made her come a few times that night, he remembered it well. If he closed his eyes now, he could still see and hear her as perfectly as if she were right here, as if no time had passed at all. But time had passed and here he was, in a house underground in the middle of the desert, just waiting for clues that would lead him in the right direction but hidden away from the world for his own safety and the safety of those who mattered the most to him.

The only person he saw these days was Gibson, who came to see him once or twice a week when he was sure it was safe for him. But the one he wanted to see the most was only there in a picture. He was becoming increasingly unsure of his ability to live with this loneliness after having met someone like her, who showed him every day what it was like to not feel lonely.

Looking at the picture again, he thanked his past self for keeping that camera inside that drawer even though he rarely used it. What would he do now if he didn’t have this picture of her? How would the pain of being away be somewhat bearable? He touched her hair on the photo and wondered if it were longer now, if she had finally let it grow past her shoulders; he wondered if she smiled while holding their son; he wondered if she thought of him when she looked into the baby’s eyes, even though William seemed to have inherited her eye color. He hoped she smiled often, despite all the troubles she might be having by taking care of a baby on her own. He wished life was treating her well despite all the madness that forced him to run away. He hoped she laughed sometimes, too, just like she was doing in the picture in his hands. His pulse quickened just by looking at it. He wished she could feel his touch on her face every time he touched her face on the picture. He wished he could talk to her and hear all the wonderful sounds her mouth could produce.

The thought he had had a billion times already came back to him again as he thought of her voice. Would they know? Would the people who were trying to keep them apart notice if he called her? No, a phone call was not safe, he knew it, but maybe he should send her an e-mail. He had resisted contacting her for fear they might be caught, but maybe just once wouldn’t do any harm. He desperately needed it to keep his sanity. Besides, he had learned by now how to take precautions so that no one would be able to trace the e-mail back to him. Should he risk it?

He shouldn’t even be wondering; he just knew what the answer was.

He stood up and went to the computer before he could change his mind. The words flew out of him, concise but honest.

_Dearest Dana,_

_I've resisted contacting you for reasons I know you continue to appreciate. But, to be honest, some unexpected dimensions of my new life are eating away at any resolve I have left. I'm lonely, Dana, uncertain of my ability to live like this. I want to come home. To you, and to William._

He didn’t say goodbye because he couldn’t bear using that word ever again. It was a word that had been too present and too real in his life for far too long. Not saying it gave him hope that there was a continuation to everything.

He clicked “send” and felt tears sting his eyes as he stared at the computer screen. The anxiety of waiting for her reply would be endless now, and he hoped he would have enough to do to distract himself until her answer finally came. He just needed proof that she existed, that he hadn’t imagined the past 9 years, even though he knew he hadn’t because of the picture in his hand. He walked back to bed and kissed the picture before keeping it back into his wallet.

“Good night, Scully,” he said aloud, his voice sounding weird to his own ears for not having spoken in days.

He closed his eyes and he could swear he could hear her say, “Good night, Mulder”, right before he surrendered to slumber.

He slept that night like he hadn’t slept in a long while.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

He had seen her from afar. He had heard her voice calling his name. He wanted to be running in her direction instead of away from her. It was hard to fight against himself, to tell himself to go the opposite direction, but he had to because he now knew they had fallen into a trap. He had also learned a valuable truth, but it wasn’t the reason why he had jumped off that train. They were all still in danger – him, Scully, William. He had to keep running in the opposite direction even though his heart didn’t want to help, even though his eyes were threatening to blur to the point he wouldn’t be able to see anything in front of him in a few seconds. He just told his body he had to keep moving forward and his body obeyed. It was still not time for him to be back and nothing had ever hurt more.

He only allowed himself to properly break down when he was back at the safety of his underground desert house. When was this going to end? He was tired of running. He couldn’t help hearing again and again the desperation in Scully’s voice when she called his name when the train passed by her, or when she called out to him when he was a little farther away but could still hear her voice. He held her picture against his heart and cried himself to sleep that night, begging for a sign that there really was a point to all of this. He didn’t know how much longer and how much suffering he could take.

His sign came the following morning in the form of an email. She had understood his reasons; she was also just as scared as he was. But there was hope in her words, and it was that hope and the love that he found there that made him read her message over, and over, and over again.

_The forces against us are unrelenting. But so is my determination. To see you again. To regain the comfort and safety that we shared for so brief a time. Until then, I remain forever yours — Dana._

He clicked “print” before erasing all his tracks. He felt like crying again, for he knew he wouldn’t be able to contact her again now, but he couldn’t help smiling instead. His heart felt a little bit lighter than it did just the night before and it was because of only 5 sentences.

He sighed, thinking that maybe there wasn’t a point to all of this, but even if there wasn’t, Scully reminded him that there was unrelenting, undying love waiting for him back home, for when it was safe for him to be back. That was the sign he needed; that was reason enough to keep going.

“Thank you, Scully,” he said aloud, as if she could somehow hear him.

Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him, but he could swear he could hear her say, “See you soon”.

He folded the paper and kept it beside her picture in his wallet as a token of good luck for the truths he now felt ready to uncover.


	7. Roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're on the run and Mulder finds out another fact about Scully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I apologize for not updating every day as I said I would in the beginning. Something called 'work' got in the way of me doing what I actually wanted.
> 
> This story was actually written before I even wrote the first chapter of Throughout The Years and it wasn't supposed to be posted at all, but I kind of mentioned it very briefly on [Chapter 10](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/34566438) and it suddenly became part of the whole story. It is also connected to a chapter/story that is coming later on, so stay tuned!
> 
> Last, but not least, I hope you don't die from diabetes after reading this. I have a hard time balancing romance and angst sometimes =P  
> Enjoy! ♥

**Roses**

Mulder was always impressed with how he found out things about Scully by chance sometimes, especially when they were simple things that he failed to see even after knowing her for so long.

It was the fifth motel they checked in in about a month, in a small town with very few inhabitants, just good enough for them to spend a few days as they tried to leave the FBI behind and cover their tracks. As the motel clerk checked them in, he noticed Scully looked intently at something to her right. At first, he hadn’t noticed what she was looking at, until she spoke.

“Those are beautiful roses,” she said to the woman behind the counter.

The woman smiled at her, friendly.

“It’s from a street market just down the road. They are there every Saturday night, so I guess you’re in luck.”

Saturday. Being on the run meant you lost track of time sometimes. Keeping track of the days of the week was not important when the whole FBI was after you, but it was nice to have something to hold on to now and again. Saturday sounded good.

Scully smiled back at the woman and then expectantly at Mulder. She was the first to keep them out of common activities that would leave them out in the open, but they were so far away and had covered their tracks so well that she knew just this once wouldn’t make a difference, that it wouldn’t put them in danger. But in her Scully way, she was asking him what he thought, if it was a good idea. They never made any decisions alone, especially after they hopped on a car together and drove for miles and miles until they thought they were relatively safe.

Mulder smiled at her, then took a quick glance at the roses behind her. He didn’t think it would be a problem either. Besides, he couldn’t say no to the woman that had given him so much, that had sacrificed everything in her life just to follow him.

He blinked slowly at her and nodded, answering the question she had only asked with her eyes. She smiled widely as a way of saying thank you. He just loved how they were able to communicate with only their eyes so perfectly well.

Their silent conversation was interrupted by the woman behind the counter, who cleared her throat as if she knew she was interrupting something important. She gave them the key to their room wordlessly and then turned to her previous task, leaving them to the privacy of their eye conversation. He chuckled as he remembered Frohike referring to this private conversation they had as ‘eye fucking’, especially when it wasn’t exactly a conversation they were having, but simply an intense ten-second gaze that spoke volumes on its own. He couldn’t remember if he had ever told Scully about that.

She arched one of her eyebrows, one of her ways of trying to find out what was going on inside his head.

Instead of answering her, he just pulled her by the hand and guided her to their room. She would understand better if he showed her anyway. Another thing that impressed him was that they didn’t seem to get enough of each other, to the point of exhaustion sometimes. Maybe it was all the time they had spent apart that had done this to them and now they acted as if they needed to catch up. Not that he was complaining, of course. He didn’t see her complaining, either.

A couple of orgasms later, they were walking down the street, holding hands, feeling the cool air of the evening on their faces. It felt good not to be worried about everything for once, to pretend they were just another ordinary couple, something they didn’t really have a chance of being in their previous life. They reached the flower stand and he watched in amazement as Scully seemed to be mesmerized by all the roses she saw. Her eyes were wide, a grin was plastered on her face, her hand was squeezing his slightly and absentmindedly.

She picked a white rose up and raised it to her nose, closing her eyes. After a few seconds, she turned to him and raised it to his nose.

“Doesn’t it smell wonderful?”

“It does,” he said smiling “And to be honest, I never knew you liked flowers that much. If I’d known before, I would have definitely bought you more than just a few pathetic bouquets.”

She chuckled.

“I like flowers in general, but roses are my favorite. They remind me of my childhood. Of simpler and happier times. Roses make me feel better.”

Her eyes were wet, and he felt his heart sink. He couldn’t help hanging on to one of the words she used: happier.

He cupped her face and kissed her forehead, and he didn’t know if the surprised look on her face was for the public display of affection or if she sensed something was wrong.

“I’ll give you some time on your own with your roses, okay? I’ll be right down the road. I think I saw a Big Foot costume just around the corner. I’ll be back here when you’re done.”

She chuckled and then nodded, but she looked confused. He knew she could always see through him, but he couldn’t find anything better to say. He turned around as she turned to a shelf with yellow roses.

He tried hard not to think about it, but sometimes a simple word like that got to him in ways he couldn’t explain. As he walked down the street, he thought of all the things he had caused in her life and how she might be better off if she had never met him. He should have dropped her off somewhere and told her to go home, to not follow him into this fugitive life. This was not the life he wanted for the woman he loved most in the world.

He was almost turning around the corner he had mentioned to Scully when he felt a light touch on his shoulder. He turned around, suddenly worried that someone might have found them, but it was just her. She smiled softly at him as if apologizing for making him think he was in danger.

“Are you done already?” He asked, surprised.

She nodded, and he couldn’t help noticing she had nothing in her hands.

“Didn’t you buy anything?”

She shook her head.

“We don’t have anywhere to put them, Mulder. We don’t even have a house.”

He knew she didn’t mean anything by it, she was just pointing out the obvious which he had failed to see. He was done disappointing her, though.

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

If she had looked confused before, she looked even more confused now. She just murmured an ‘ok’, but he realized she was trying to make sense of everything. Her look was almost sad.

He hurried back to the flower stand trying not to think of her look or every other sad thing in her life.

The man in the stand was finishing wrapping a bouquet and he waited until he handed it to the other customer before making his presence known. The man looked at him then.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, hm, there was a redhead here just now, do you remember the flowers she liked the most?”

The man smiled at him.

“She your wife?”

“Not wife, no.”

The man chuckled happily and then shook his head, murmuring something about more than one woman being trouble and reaching for a bucket with red roses inside. It only occurred to Mulder then that his answer might have been misinterpreted, and he felt like laughing. He didn’t laugh, though, because the man turned to him right then.

“These were the ones she seemed to be in love with.”

Mulder took a look at them and saw that there was one that seemed particularly different than the others, standing out in the bucket, although on a regular day he would just think they all looked the same. He pointed at it.

“I’d like this one, please.”

The man was kind of smirking, and he wondered if he should say something or just let the man keep inventing stories in his head. He chose the latter.

The man finished wrapping the rose in a beautiful package and then exchanged it for Mulder’s money.

“Thank you,” Mulder said, as he prepared to leave.

Before he could turn around, though, the man stopped him, his voice a little louder than before to call his attention.

“I know it’s none of my business, son, but I know love when I see it. If she’s the one you love, stay with her. Don’t let her slip away.”

Mulder just nodded before he turned around, thinking how mistaken the man was in a way and how right he was in other ways. He just took a few steps and saw that Scully was exactly where he had left her, her arms crossed in front of her chest and, even from a distance, he could see that her eyebrows were arched and that she had a suspicious smirk on her face.

She started walking towards him and he handed her the flower when they met halfway.

“We can put it in a glass and leave it in our room for the week. I know our room is not even close to a house, but I hope at least this rose can comfort you for a bit.”

She seemed to want to say something, but she took the rose to her nose instead, closing her eyes as she inhaled, a soft smile playing on her lips, her face serene.

“Dad used to give mom a rose every year on her birthday, a date that for some reason would make her sad sometimes. But dad always came back home with a rose to cheer her up, saying it symbolized new beginnings, and that there was no better date than birthdays to start a new chapter of our lives.” She sighed, her eyes still closed, before she continued. “I remember thinking that those roses were the ultimate sign of love, that I wouldn’t want anything less for me than a love like theirs, a love that could be symbolized by a rose. I’m glad life didn’t disappoint me in that sense.”

She opened her eyes slowly, her smile widening, and he could feel his own eyes watering. Scully was never one to say, ‘I love you’, but when she did it in her own way, he was always thrown off his feet. Her words always held a full world of meaning even if they were just a couple of sentences.

Slowly, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. He closed his eyes at the touch.

“Thank you for the rose, Mulder.”

He took her free hand to his mouth and kissed it.

“It’s the least I can do.”

She smiled again before he lowered her hand and they started walking back to their motel.

“Oh, and the guy who sold me the flower thought you were my mistress or something.”

Scully laughed openly in a way he hadn’t heard her laugh in a while.

“What did you tell him?”

“Nothing, he just asked me if you were my wife and I said no. Then he looked at me suspiciously and then gave me some pep talk about love.”

She was silent for a few seconds and, when he didn’t continue, she tugged his hand softly.

“Are you really going to leave me hanging? I’m always game for some love advice.”

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and saw that she looked like a kid waiting for a Christmas present and this was the exact reaction he was hoping for.

“He basically told me to leave my wife for you.”

She laughed again and he had to slow the rhythm of his steps so she could laugh and walk at the same time.

“It’s been a while since someone last called me a homewrecker.”

Her laughter faded slowly and for a moment it felt like they were back in 2000, on a specific day in Hollywood, alone in a movie set, feeling like the world was theirs and only theirs.

Sometimes, their life really felt like old times, but, even if it didn’t, even if it were completely different, there was no chance in hell he would ever let this woman slip away.

He didn’t know why the flower seller’s advice had stuck with him until later that night, when, while she slept peacefully with her head on his chest, he looked at the rose inside a glass of water on the bedside table. The words had stuck with him because he feared Scully would get tired of all the running one day and would inevitably slip away. He promised himself to try his hardest not to let it happen.

That was the night when he decided to build a proper home with her. Not that he had expected to just be jumping from place to place for the entirety of their lives, but everything had happened in such a hurry he didn’t even think of what they were going to do next, and at this point, she was just following him everywhere he told her they needed to go. He promised himself right then that he wouldn’t rest until she had a proper home and, when that happened, he was going to make sure there were always plenty of roses everywhere.


	8. Not Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder catches Scully crying and he is trying to find the reason behind her tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! For those of you who aren't tired of me yet, here's another story I wrote before deciding that only a paragraph would be enough for the original fic. I like how it turned out, though, so I'm sharing it anyway. (Said paragraph is on [Chapter 10 of Throughout The Years](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/34566438))
> 
> Enjoy ♥

**Not Alone**

The funny thing about being on the run was that sometimes it would feel like vacation for a couple of days, until the next days came and they would spend them literally running to avoid leaving tracks and then running a little more to erase the tracks they did leave behind. It was pure adrenaline being sent all over their bodies and making them restless until they thought they were relatively safe. Yesterday had been one of those days and it was why he decided that she deserved to sleep a little bit more, maybe even sleep the portion of sleep that was assigned to him, but from which he had used only one or two hours. She also deserved a proper breakfast.

So, he kissed her cheek and smiled before leaving the room. There was a coffee shop near where they were staying and since it was still very early, he didn’t see a problem with being out in the open just yet.

He ordered them both coffees, muffins, and a tofu cheese thing that was completely unknown to him, but he thought she might like it.

The whole process only took about 20 minutes, so he was surprised when he reentered the room and she was already awake. He smiled when he saw her sitting there, her back turned to him as she looked at something outside the window. It was a peaceful view.

The door behind him closed with a click and he saw that she startled, her hands quickly going to her face as if wiping something as she shifted in place. Was she crying? The view didn’t look so peaceful anymore.

He placed the coffees and the bag with their food on the desk to his left, worried. He tried to sound calm when he spoke.

“Scully, what’s wrong?”

He walked slowly towards her and she looked at him quickly with a forced smile on her face before looking down at her hands.

“It’s nothing. I just… don’t worry about it, I’m fine.”

She was trying to smile through her tears, trying to reassure him of something he knew wasn’t true. She was a terrible liar when it came to her feelings.

He sat beside her on the bed.

“Did I do something?”

She shook her head while wiping more tears that insisted to fall. Then she reached for his hand and squeezed it slightly, as if to show he was not the problem.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She shook her head once again, and he could see that she was trying hard not to break in front of him. He admired her for her strength, but he would never understand her need to hide her feelings from him, especially now that hiding had become their way of surviving. He thought they were hiding enough already.

“I’ll be fine, I promise.”

She sounded a little irritated, and he knew it was time to stop pushing.

“Do you want me to leave?”

He knew how sometimes she needed some time on her own, but she shook her head again while allowing herself to sob. He reached for a box of tissues that was on the bedside table and handed it to her.

She smiled weakly at him in gratitude as she took it but didn’t say anything else.

But what was she crying about? Was she just tired? Was it indeed something he had said or done, and she didn’t want to tell him? Was it that time of the month that was close to her period? He knew she tended to get a little more sensitive due to her hormones during those days, so it might be it. No, she had just had her period last week, and the reason why he knew it wasn’t just because they lived together now, but because she had said something about her body preparing for a child it could never bear and how useless she thought it all was. She hadn’t seemed sad at the time, she was just stating a fact in a kind of a dark mood way, but her words got to him anyway.

So, if none of these things were the reason for her tears, what was it, then? His eyes suddenly wandered from her to the point she had been looking outside the window and it all made sense. Maybe he wasn’t so wrong in thinking that the comment she had made just a week ago could be one of the reasons why she was crying. There was a mother singing happily to her baby in the parking lot, while the baby laughed as he was rocked back and forth. It all brought heartbreaking memories back to her. He looked away from the mother and her kid and his eyes fell upon the calendar that was hanging on the wall, and it was only then that he realized the sheer coincidence that just in 5 days their son would turn 2 and they wouldn’t be there to see it. He suddenly felt like crying too.

He wrapped his right arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him, kissing her temple and then rubbing her upper arm a little. He would be there for her, even if she didn’t want to talk. He hoped it helped a little.

He needed to do more than just a little, though. He made a mental note to start thinking about things he could do to make her smile in the next few days. He knew it wouldn’t take the pain away, but he wanted her to know that she was not alone.

He felt her sobs start to subside and he kissed the top of her head before speaking.

“The coffee must be cold already, but I bought us breakfast. They didn’t have any alien-shaped muffins, but they did have a tofu cheese thingy I thought you might like.”

She chuckled at this, and he was glad he could still make her laugh through her tears.

“You really know the way to my heart, don’t you?” She said, and he thought he saw a little of her light back into her eyes.

They sat there in silence for a few more minutes before deciding to stand up and go eat their food.

Their coffee was indeed already cold when they got to it, but he felt the room a little bit warmer as the minutes passed. He made a mental note to buy her breakfasts more often and to try to find ways of lessening her pain at this time, not only for the next few days, but also in the years to come. Maybe helping her with her suffering would help him with his as well. Trying to heal together was a good way to do things.


	9. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder wants to surprise Scully but ends up being surprised. (And it's probably not what you're thinking).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The On-the-run era is something I like to write about, but since not many people like it, I refrained from including too much of it in Throughout The Years. This started out as chapter 11 of that fic, but got discarded, so now it fits (almost) perfectly before [chapter 10](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/34566438).
> 
> I hope you like it. =)

**Questions**

If he were to describe their first year on the run, he would say it looked like an old and cliché romance movie, one that he surprisingly loved. It was almost a contradiction to the life they had before, a life which would certainly make a great science fiction movie with several sequels to correctly picture all the mess and all the troubles they had had to face. This sudden change was comforting.

They were not as desperate for each other as they were in the beginning, when they spent basically every waking hour memorizing each other’s body with their own, but what they were living now was a healthy balance that made him fairly happy (or at least as happy as he could be in a situation like theirs).

It did get tiring at times, all this running, all the adrenaline running through their veins, all the double and triple-checking they had to do to make sure they wouldn’t be found, all the names they had to come up with because using Fox and Dana or Mulder and Scully could get them into trouble pretty quickly.

Although tiring, Scully never complained. She was always ready, always on her feet before sunrise, always giving him strength the way she always did. He hoped she found strength in him as well.

Since they never stopped anywhere for more than a few days and because they were always afraid of being caught, they never really enjoyed the places they passed by, even though by now they had probably traveled more than they had ever traveled in their entire previous lives. He observed Scully’s eyes sometimes, though, the way she sighed as if regretting she couldn’t just sit and enjoy the view out in the open, the way she would smile at him as if feeling guilty for having thought of something other than their safety. But today was her birthday and he was going to surprise her.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, watching as the wind blew her hair, the sunlight on her face, watching as she closed her eyes and smiled without showing her teeth, but a beautiful smile, nonetheless. She had been smiling less and less these days and he wondered if she regretted following him sometimes. 

He saw her smile start to fade and he stepped onto the gas a little more, being rewarded with the reaction he was hoping for. She laughed at the unexpected change in speed and at the wind blowing harder on her face. There it was, his favorite side of Scully, the one he had promised to keep alive until the end of his days. He liked to think that he would be able to keep that promise.

“We shouldn’t be going this fast, Mulder,” she warned, sounding a bit like the Scully that never broke any rules that he used to know, but the smile was still wide on her face, as if she were saying something but meaning another.

He smiled and reached for her thigh, squeezing it slightly.

“I don’t think there’s anyone paying attention, Scully.”

She nodded contently as she looked ahead, to the nothingness in front of them. He hadn’t told her where they were going, and he hoped she would just figure out when they were close. When they arrived in this town a few days ago, they had passed by a lake that she said reminded her of her home in San Diego when she was a kid, so he had no doubts about what they should do before going to the next nameless town. He had thought about blindfolding her so she wouldn’t see where they were going, but she deserved to enjoy the view on the way as well. She had been living in the darkness for too long for him to subject her to another half hour of nothing but darkness.

He had always seen Scully as pure light, as the beacon that guided his way, so when he saw darkness roaming around that brilliant soul of hers, he would always try to drive it away. In the past year, he had seen Scully laugh a lot more than he was used to, but he also had seen her cry in the same amount. The crying part worried him sometimes. He would eventually wipe her tears away by holding her close, by making her laugh or by making love to her until she forgot the reason she had been crying in the first place. When she begged him to make love to her was when he worried the most because he knew she was trying to forget, trying to focus on the here and now instead of on the past and on the uncertain future ahead of them.

At least they had each other to hang on to when their thoughts threatened to smother them.

He turned their rented convertible into a smaller road to the left, following the path less traveled to try and keep the surprise a surprise for as long as he could. There was still something he hadn’t prepared accordingly for tonight, though, so he would need her help with that one. How could he do that without her realizing what his intentions were? He thought for a bit and decided that he could ask her something random and then try to adapt her answer to his restaurant plans. Maybe that could work.

“Hey Scully, if you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?”

She didn’t even take a second before answering, eyes glued somewhere to her right on the road.

“Home.”

He felt as if someone had kicked him right in the balls, as air seemed not to find its way into his lungs. This was not the answer he was expecting at all, although he should have seen this was the most obvious one. He didn’t know what to say or do. Was she really feeling this miserable? Had all his efforts to try and make her happy been in vain? Why was she still following him, then? The more the questions filled his mind, the more out of breath he felt and the more anger he felt rising. Had he gotten her all wrong? Was she with him because she felt like she _had_ to? Out of pity? He didn’t want anyone staying with him out of pity.

“I’ll drop you off at the nearest station, then. Do you think you can go by your real name without getting into trouble?”

He felt her hand on his thigh, touching it slightly, almost as if she were afraid to touch him. Her voice was low, almost cracking.

“Mulder, I didn’t mean it like that.”

_But you did, Scully, you did._

He was overreacting, he knew it, but he still couldn’t help the feeling of hopelessness that came over him, the feeling that sometimes came back to him, that she would be much better off without him, a feeling which she had just confirmed as reality with only a word.

The air grew heavy in the car, so heavy that it felt like they weren’t in a convertible, but in a very small vehicle with no windows whatsoever. He needed air, why wasn’t it coming? If he didn’t breathe soon the tears that were stinging his eyes would fall and it would not be pretty. Luckily, he started seeing the lake on the horizon. They wouldn’t have to drive in silence for much longer now.

He was trying not to look at her, but he couldn’t help glancing at her quickly and seeing that she was looking at her hands while pushing her cuticles back with her own nails, as if suddenly she realized they had grown too far and she had to do something about them. He could almost see her thinking, the gears in her head turning to try and explain to herself where she had gone wrong in her life and how the heck she had ended up in a car, with a nobody, going nowhere. She deserved so much more than him, and yet, here she was.

_Exactly, Mulder, stop being such a jerk._

But he couldn’t stop and now he was angry at himself. He heard her gasp and say his name quietly as they approached the lake and took in the view. At least she seemed to like it.

He pulled over and got out of the car without looking at her. He needed some time to think and if he looked at her now, he would certainly cry or keep being the jerk she didn’t deserve him to be. So, he just mumbled ‘Happy Birthday’ and walked away, aiming at a log he saw in the distance. When he finally reached it, he sat down and took a deep breath, trying to pull his thoughts together.

He remembered that time, in that other life they had once had, when he had gotten angry with her because she had gone out and slept with some guy named Ed and had a tattoo in a rebellious act he still couldn’t understand to this day. He had realized back then that his anger had not simply come out of jealousy, but also out of selfishness, of thinking her life was his and that she had to feel however he felt. Now that he thought of it, he was doing the same now, acting like a child because she said what was on her mind, because she felt something different than he did. He took another deep breath, his mind starting to clear. Maybe all the running around was starting to take its toll on him. Maybe it was starting to take its toll on her too and she hadn’t had the courage to say anything.

He didn’t know how long he had been sitting there when he felt a nudge on his shoulder and a familiar warmth that came along with it.

“Hey,” she said as she sat on the log beside him.

“Hey,” he replied weakly.

They were in silence for some very long minutes. This was also something he had learned about Scully in the past year – sometimes, when she knew she wasn’t wrong, she would just stay in silence, patiently waiting for him to apologize. If he didn’t, she would eventually forgive him anyway and they would move on. But usually he did apologize, and most of those apologies were followed by sex, which was a plus.

He didn’t have the courage to look her in the eye just yet, but what he had to say came from his heart. It was long due anyway.

“I’m sorry I took you away from home, Scully.”

He saw one of her hands crawl along his arm and then meet his hand, the one he had rested on his knee. She laced their fingers and caressed the flesh her thumb could reach.

“Mulder, I just meant that I miss my _other_ family and that it would be nice to see them all again. I hope you know that I wouldn’t want to be anywhere you weren’t. I chose you and I’ll always choose you. It’s tiring that I have to keep reminding you of that, but I will keep doing it if I have to.”

He sighed and then finally looked at her, tears threatening to leave his eyes. She smiled at him and her eyes smiled with her. His heart melted once again. The 2003 version of Scully was so much more mature than the 1993 version of her, but he couldn’t help seeing both of them when he looked into her eyes. It was what was most fascinating about her, the fact that she had changed so much and yet she continued the same. He hoped she would give him the chance of getting to know her future version, that she would look past his moments of self-pity and all-around jerkiness, because, honestly, she was the only promising thing about the future in his mind.

As if replying to his thoughts, she kissed his lips, a lingering chaste peck that comforted him in many ways.

She rubbed his cheeks with her thumbs for a while and then put on a serious face before speaking.

“Mulder, the next time you doubt my reasons for following you, I’m going to kick your ass.”

He laughed and she followed, her giggles filling his ear and making him feel better already. He kissed her hand lovingly before nodding and wrapping an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.

“I’m sorry I ruined your birthday, Scully.”

“You didn’t ruin anything, Mulder.”

“Happy birthday, then.”

“Thank you.”

She removed her head from where it was resting in the crook of his neck and kissed his cheek, just as slowly as she had kissed his lips. Then she rested her head on his shoulder and sighed.

They stayed in silence for more than a few moments after that, but it was a comfortable silence this time, the silence they had gotten used to along the years. Their silence. He didn’t know if it was possible to actually own something as immaterial as silence, but this one had always belonged to them, the silence that always said so much.

When she spoke, her voice was a little hesitant, almost as if she were afraid of expressing her feelings aloud. He couldn’t blame her after his overreaction on the road.

“When will we stop running, Mulder?”

He stroked her hair slowly, running his fingers through it, then kissed the top of her head. He didn’t have an answer for her and he wished he did. How would they know if the FBI had stopped looking for them? And how would they know if they weren’t just momentarily giving them space so they could let their guard down to just catch them when they were least expecting? He didn’t have an answer to any of those questions, but what he did know was that it was time to stop running, to stop running before it was too late for them, before the toll it took was too big for any of them to handle.

“I’m tired of running too.”

It wasn’t exactly an answer to her question, but he hoped it helped. Which reminded him, he still needed her help, but now he was starting to doubt his question-asking skills.

“Scully?”

“Yes?”

“When you think of ‘Home’, what food comes to mind?”

She didn’t even hesitate.

“Pizza, popcorn, Shiner Bock. Even better if Caddyshack is playing as background noise.”

He couldn’t help grinning at her answer.

“Only as background noise?”

“Well, that was all it ever was to us, since we always realized we had more interesting things to do before the movie even started.”

He chuckled, remembering their movie nights and wishing suddenly they had had more of those in their days.

“Would a repeat of that make you happy?”

“More than any fancy restaurant in the world, Mulder.”

So she _was_ onto him after all. He chuckled and then kissed her head once again.

Caddyshack. He needed to find out where he could find it. The next step would be a home. Maybe that could be her surprise for their next anniversary.


	10. Remarkable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scully surprises Mulder this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter/story can be set after [Chapter 10 of Throughout The Years](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/34566438). I will include a note in the end for those of you who haven't read it because I don't want to spoil anything before you read this story, but you'll understand it perfectly anyway.
> 
> Also, this is a classic case of "I don't like/write smut, but sometimes the story just writes itself and there's nothing I can do about it".
> 
> Once again, thank you for reading and I hope you like it. =)

**Remarkable**

Mulder had been observing Scully from the bedroom door, since it gave a perfect view of the kitchen table. She was sitting there, alternating between circling things out on a paper, drinking her coffee and eating the cookies she had placed on a plate. He was quite impressed that she had mastered the ability of not mistaking her pen for her cookies and not biting it instead. He would have certainly done that by now.

He walked towards her and kissed her cheek, and only then did she seem to realize she was not alone.

“Good morning,” he said.

She smiled at him.

“Did I wake you? I was trying to be as quiet as possible, I promise.”

He smiled back as she drank a little of her coffee again and then he turned to go grab his mug in the cupboard. She had a half smile on her face when he turned back, still watching him, and it gave him that feeling he had every time he looked at her. How could he still be falling more and more in love with her every day?

He poured coffee into his mug and then walked to sit by her side.

“What are you doing?” He asked, since he couldn’t see what she was circling so much.

She hesitated a little, thinking, then sighed.

“I’m looking for a job.”

He sipped his coffee, digesting the information along with the liquid.

He had been wondering for a while now when she would come up with that. They did have enough money to get by, thanks to the plan they had put in place right before he went hiding in the desert, but he knew Scully wasn’t the type to just sit still. Not that he thought that she was doing this out of boredom, because she wasn’t that type of person either, but he knew that she missed making a difference, being out there and helping people in any way she could. If he was being honest, he himself missed being part of the world like that.

She must have misinterpreted his silence because she watched him for a while before she continued.

“Unless you think it’s still not the right time…”

“No, no, Scully, I was just thinking. You’re right. You’ve been hiding for too long. At this point, I’m sure they would have found us already if they wanted to find us. And besides, you’re a free woman. They have nothing to hold against you.”

She put her mug down.

“Except that I helped you escape from prison and we are currently living together. I’m an accomplice.”

“No one can prove anything.”

“Isn’t it a huge, weird coincidence, though, that I happened to vanish from the face of the Earth at the same time that you did? I mean, at that point, everyone just knew I would do anything for you.”

He put down his mug, smiling, her declaration not being lost on him.

“Well, if anyone does find you, you can always say we split up and you never heard of me again.”

She chuckled softly.

“And do you think they’ll just take my word for it?”

He shrugged.

“Well, we might have to take some precautions, but nothing we can’t handle.”

“But, Mulder, what if I put you in danger? What if they find you? What if…”

He had to hold her arm to make her stop.

“God knows how much I love your rationality, but will please stop now? If this is truly what you want, we can make it happen, alright? I’m trying to help you here, but you’re not being easy.”

She chuckled again.

“I know, and I love you for it.”

“Oh, that’s what you love me for, huh?”

He sipped a little of his coffee and smiled with his eyes more than with his mouth.

She gave his shoulder a nudge.

“Yeah, and for a few other things, too…”

She smirked and then turned her eyes to the paper. He decided to leave her alone in her quest and take care of his own stuff. He couldn’t make a difference out in the open, but he could sometimes be useful to the online community.

He stood up and kissed her temple.

“I love you too.”

She smiled at him, but there was something in her eyes he couldn’t quite read. If he didn’t know better, he would think that she was hiding something from him.

\------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, he woke up to the sound of the front door closing behind her.

“Mulder?” She called, making him realize that he should have been up already; he usually was when she came back from her morning run.

He looked at the alarm clock and was surprised to see that no, he was right on time; she was the one who was early.

She entered the bedroom then, her long hair in a ponytail, a wet spot in her t-shirt that told him she had indeed already been running.

“Why are you up so early?”

She tried to suppress her grin, but she was unsuccessful. What was it that was making her so happy?

She bent down to unlace her shoes.

“I found something that I need you to see. I just need to shower first and then we can go.”

“May I know what it is that you want me to see?”

She rolled her yoga pants down her legs and then took them off, and he couldn’t help following her movements with his eyes, specially the movement she did with her hips.

She smiled slyly.

“You’ll find out when you see it.”

“Aren’t we cryptic today?”

She half-smiled and then raised her T-shirt over her head. If he didn’t know better, he would think that she was doing it purposefully slower than she should. When it was finally out of her body, she casually threw it on a pile in the corner of the room.

He smiled at her and she stopped moving, her hands on her waist, panting a little, probably realizing she had done everything too fast since she got here and had forgotten to breathe. Or it could be that she was thinking about something else.

He watched her for a while, watching as she caught her breath and then removed her sports bra and her panties, throwing them onto the same pile her other pieces of clothing had fallen, and he wondered how the hell she still had the power of undressing casually in front of him and making him as hard as a rock in the process.

She shifted her eyes to his erection and then looked back at him, a small smirk playing at the corner of her lips.

“You can join me in the shower, if you want. I think we have enough time.”

She licked her lips and then disappeared into the bathroom. He undressed as quickly as he could and followed her. Maybe he would be able to get something out of her before they left to wherever it was that she wanted him to go.

Her back was turned to him and the water was already falling down her hair and over her shoulder when he got in.

She looked at him over her shoulder and smirked.

“So you came.”

“Not yet,” he said, pressing his body against her and bending down a little to take earlobe between his teeth. Then, he wrapped his arms around her waist.

“We do need to shower too, you know that, right?”

She pressed her body a little more into his in total contradiction to what she had just said, and he couldn’t help groaning in her ear.

“We could totally not shower too. Or would that be inappropriate for wherever it is we’re going?”

He lowered his hand and cupped her sex. She let out a sigh.

“If you think you’re going to get any information out of me by doing this, I hope you know how wrong you are.”

He parted her with his middle finger slowly, then ran it up and down her slit. She gasped.

“Are you sure about that?”

She moaned as he reached her clit and stroked it just the way he knew she liked it.

“Yes…”

He didn’t know exactly if her answer had been in reply to his touch or to his question and he smiled against her neck, where he was already sucking her erogenous zone.

As she whimpered, his index finger joined his middle finger while he stroked her, and soon both his fingers were entering her, making a louder moan escape her lips. She grabbed his lower arm for support as he pumped into her, slowly at first, but increasing his speed in just a few seconds. Her head lolled to rest on his shoulder and she closed her eyes, just waiting. She knew he could take care of her very well; he knew that soon she would be grinding into his hand. So, he slowed his movements and then, with no warning, took his fingers out of her.

She opened her eyes at the loss of contact, surprised.

“Mulder, what do you think you’re doing? I didn’t tell you to stop.”

“You weren’t telling me _not_ to stop either.”

She turned around then to face him, her eyes furious with frustration, as though she didn’t know if she wanted to slap him or kiss him hard. Her choice was neither, though. She took his cock in her hand and stroked it up and down once.

And then she kissed him hard, bringing him to the middle of the shower, the water falling between them making it all even more erotic for some reason. Maybe he should give up on trying to get anything other than an orgasm out of her. He would find out soon what she was up to anyway, so... but that was exactly what she wanted, wasn’t it?

“So, you think I’m going to give up that easily, huh?”

He wrapped his hand around her wrist, hoping that by doing so she would let go, but instead she gripped him harder, her hand moving up and down his shaft quickly.

“I’m in control here, remember?”

He couldn’t help closing his eyes and saying her name aloud as she stroked him even faster. When she finally started slowing her rhythm and he was able to open his eyes again, she was biting her lower lip and had a sly smile on her face.

“And I honestly believe I can make you give up pretty easily.”

She didn’t need to say anything else; her challenging him always drove him crazy. He pressed her against the wall so quickly that she had no other choice but release him. He kissed her again, his tongue entering her mouth as quickly as hers entered his, devouring each other with such passion he thought that there was a huge possibility their tongues would entangle at some point. He never wanted to leave her mouth when they did this, but he had to now because he wanted to follow through with his plan. He kissed her chin slowly, then her neck, then licked his way from the hollow of her neck to her right breast. He filled his mouth with it, his tongue darting out and touching her nipple skillfully. Her sigh was so good that it motivated one of his hands to reach her other breast, while the other hand held her hip for support. He rolled her nipple between his fingers, synchronizing the rhythm of his tongue and his fingers.

“Oh god, don’t stop.”

That’s what he liked to hear. Not that her words and her whimpers were not enough of a reward, but he was searching for a different reward this time, so he granted her wish and continued with his ministrations until she was pushing his shoulders down, telling him where she wanted him to be next. He obeyed, as the good partner he was, but when he was face to face with her sex, he looked up.

“Will I like it?”

She smirked.

“I believe you’ve been down there quite a few times and if my memory doesn’t fail me, you always like it.”

He chuckled. She really was a hard one to break.

He couldn’t control himself though, so he quickly lapped at her slit and made her moan again.

“You know, Scully,” he said against her pussy and then licked her again, “We could have done this before your morning run, as usual, but you decided to go earlier today for some reason I still don’t know…”

She tangled her hand in his hair and made him look at her.

“Well, it wouldn’t have been as good as this, don’t you think?”

Her smirk was clear – no, Mulder, I’m not telling you anything.

He stood up again, to her disappointment, but then he grabbed one of her legs and hooked it around his waist. He had to bend down a little because of their height difference, but when he slid into her, he met almost no resistance. Her gasp and the way she bit her lip as she locked eyes with him told him it had been the right decision.

They rocked together, their breaths mingling as their mouths touched but didn’t kiss. They were literally just breathing each other’s air to complete their unification process. He really would never get tired of this feeling, of this easy intimacy they had had since day one and only got better with time.

He thrusted harder into her once and then pulled back almost entirely, then thrusted into her hard once again.

She closed her eyes and whimpered into his mouth.

“You like this, huh?”

He did it again and she moaned this time, a lot louder than usual.

She nodded and then suckled on his neck, giving him goosebumps all over. His own moan was louder than usual when she grazed her teeth along his sensitive skin there and her nails grazed his nipple.

They had a slow rhythm going, and he decided to try again.

“So, Scully, how fast exactly do we have to be? Because I could stay here all day, you know.”

She kissed him with her tongue from his neck up to his chin.

“Oh, I am sure you could. And to be honest, I could too.”

He pumped into her once more.

“So, can I go slow?”

She chuckled.

“I don’t want you to.”

“Why? What could be waiting for us that could possibly be better than this?”

He thrusted once and she bit his chin in response.

“Will you let me surprise you for once? It will be worth the wait, I promise.”

He wasn’t fully willing to let it go, but his cock was throbbing already. So he thrusted once, twice, three times, four times and, as her breath started to get shorter and her eyes closed, he slowed down his movements until he came to a complete halt and dropped her leg to her side again.

She sighed in frustration as she opened her eyes and he could also see flames behind her irises. The flames were in her voice when she spoke, too.

“Mulder, I swear to god, if you don’t fuck me right now, I’ll finish the job myself and I’ll probably be so mad that I’ll have to cancel what I had planned.” She hooked her other leg around his waist herself and locked eyes with him. Her voice was softer when she spoke again. “Just make me come, baby.”

Wow! Foul language and a term of endearment in one go. He was impressed with what he had accomplished. It was enough for now.

He lifted her off the floor by grabbing her other leg and wrapping it around his waist. Then he slid into her again, feeling as she took him even deeper than before. He couldn’t hold back this time. To hell with the info. He started thrusting faster and she met him thrust for thrust.

He hit her g-spot easily as she started rolling her hips around. She locked eyes with him as he increased his speed and he watched as her eyes rolled to the back of her head as he squeezed her backside, some of his fingers tentatively stroking between her cheeks. He felt her walls tighten around him as she screamed. That ‘yes’ she let out usually meant she was coming long and hard. He couldn’t help smiling at her satisfaction and he sped up his movements, hearing her moan every time he thrusted harder into her. He was soon coming, emptying himself inside her with a loud groan and her name leaving his lips louder than it usually did.

He put her back on the floor once they had both come out of their high and they smiled at each other.

“I don’t know, Scully, but I think I should try to get information out of you more often, don’t you think?”

She laughed.

“You definitely should.”

She pecked his lips and seemed to think for a while.

“Come on, let’s do what we came here to do or else we’ll be late.”

“I think we’ve just finished what we came here to do, Scully.”

“Well, you might have, but I came here for a shower. The orgasm was a bonus.”

She smiled and then turned around to get her shampoo. He automatically opened his hands because that was what she always did when they showered together. She liked it when he washed her hair.

She poured some on his hand and then turned so he could massage her scalp.

“So, Scully, you said we were going to be late. So this thing that you want me to see has a scheduled time?”

She laughed.

“Yes, Mulder, it does. Now shut up because I won’t tell you any more than this.”

“If I had known it would be this easy, I would have started by washing your hair.”

She chuckled.

“And miss all the fun? You definitely wouldn’t.”

He just chuckled. She was obviously right.

They finished their shower a little later than expected, but still on time, according to Scully.

He was so curious about what she had been planning he didn’t even notice the small piece of paper she tucked into her pocket before they left the house.

\----------------------------------------------------------------

Mulder was speechless, he really was. Out of all the things he had imagined, this hadn’t even crossed his mind.

A house.

An ordinary house.

His dream house.

He stood there for a while, wondering how the hell she had found it. He remembered telling her once, during a case, that this type of house would be a perfect place for him to settle down, if he ever were to do that, but it was so long ago he thought she had forgotten.

As if in response to his thoughts, her voice reached his ears, low as it could be, as if she were afraid of being overheard by the realtor who was waiting some feet behind them, giving them space.

“I told you it would be worth it. This is your dream home, right?”

Their hands were barely touching, only connected by their hooked pinkies. She nudged his shoulder with her own, playful. He turned his head a little to look at her, but she wasn’t looking at him, she was just staring at the porch for some reason, as if she were already imagining herself living there.

“You remember?” He asked in a low tone, a smile taking over his face slowly.

Although he was the one with an eidetic memory, Scully was not far behind on the things she remembered. Still, he was always surprised to see that she remembered the same things that he did sometimes, things that he thought only he would remember because they were connected to that side of him that had more than partner feelings for her. He had learned with time that he was wrong in every occasion – she had the same memories and probably for the same reasons he did. This was just another example of that.

She just shrugged, then finally looked up at him, her eyes smiling as much as her lips.

“I can feel in my bones this is our home, Mulder. Not just our next temporary home, but our home _home_. Our forever home. What do you think?”

He looked around for a bit and it was like he was suddenly seeing the future - Scully opening the gates and then parking her car inside as she came home from work, he at the door, smiling, waiting for her with a cup of tea in his hands, the garden full of the roses she loved so dearly and that he had promised to keep bringing into her life. This was their house, there was no question about it.

“I’ve never been this sure about anything in my entire life,” he finally uttered.

A throat was cleared behind them and Mulder realized that the realtor might actually have been listening after all.

“I would gladly sell you the house right now, but maybe you should go inside to see how it looks before making a decision.”

Mulder nodded and smiled politely, a little embarrassed for having been caught in such a private moment with Scully, for having forgotten there was anybody but them in the world.

Scully just gave Mulder a small smile as she laced their fingers together and they both followed the realtor to see what was inside the house.

He didn’t need to look inside, though, he was sure of it. This was it. This was going to be their little unremarkable house in the middle of nowhere. An unremarkable house for two people that needed to remain unremarkable.

“So, were you really looking for a job or just trying to deceive me?”

“Oh, no, I was really looking for a job. But it was during that search that I found an ad for this beauty here. The reason why I left earlier this morning was because I ran over here to check it out for myself before I told you anything. I didn’t want to get your hopes high for nothing.”

“And I love you for it.”

“That’s what you love me for, then, huh?”

He shrugged.

“Well, and for a few other things.”

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

She chuckled.

“I love you, too.”

This was the fastest the realtor had ever closed a deal, he told them later, especially when it came to a house like that.

They just told the man they were tired of being unusual; that it was time for them to experiment what common felt like.

The man looked confused but didn’t ask any questions. They moved in that same week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A "temporary home" is what I call the couple of houses Mulder and Scully have lived in after they realized that maybe no one was actively after them anymore and they could stay at the same place for a couple of months. This is what I introduced on Chapter 10 of Throughout The Years. =)


	11. Never

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder and Scully have a tough conversation. (I suck at summaries, but you already know that).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! I apologize again for not updating sooner. Life has gotten in the way once again.  
> This story is set some time after they move into the Unremarkable house and it deals with a sensitive topic. I hope you like it. ♥

**Never**

Somehow, they had made it through. Somehow no one was after them anymore. Somehow, they had survived the past 4 years of their lives without a physical scratch, although emotionally it might be a different story.

He handed her a beer as he sat beside her on the couch. He saw as she changed the channel on TV absentmindedly, as if she were somewhere else in her head. He felt a knot in his stomach every time he thought that she might get lost in her own mind to escape reality for a while, to escape him for at least 5 minutes.

He took a sip of his beer and tried to focus on what was on TV, but he could only think about her traveling to happier places, happier versions of herself inside her head, maybe wishing she had made different choices. He tried not to think of that too much, but sometimes it was inevitable. Even after all this time, he still caught himself wondering if she regretted following him.

Not that they weren’t happy, they really were, but sometimes doubt hang in the air, especially now that she was working so hard to get back into medicine. They had to take precautions in order not to get caught while she tried to take back a life that she had left behind, and that, sometimes, was exhausting.

He had been trying to do something himself, too. In this new house, their permanent home, he had an office. It was a place where he could go and try to investigate the paranormal on his own, even if he couldn’t be in the field to actually help solve the cases. Sometimes he would write and publish things under a pseudo, taking care not to use something as obvious as M.F. Luder, just in case there was someone still watching. Scully had not only been a big supporter of his trying to get back into the world somehow, but also been the one to make it possible. She made sure he had his own office when they bought the house because she knew how much he missed his weird cases; she knew how depressed he tended to get when he thought about the life they could be living. She always tried to make everything better for him in hopes he would get out of his own head sometimes, too.

Someone shouted in the movie they were supposed to be watching and it startled him, bringing him out of his reverie. She seemed startled as well. He wondered for the second time in the past few minutes where her mind had wandered to. Suddenly, she spoke, breaking the silence in a way that her voice seemed to be almost foreign to the place.

“I got the job.”

She sipped her beer right after, as if she weren’t really paying attention to what was happening in that living room, but to something that was still happening in the background inside her head. Or maybe the living room was the background to what was going on inside her head, he couldn’t tell.

But what bothered him this time was not what she might be thinking, but how she had shared that piece of information. Why wasn’t she happy about it? After all, she had been hoping for a positive answer. It was a good hospital, it was close enough that she would be able to drive to and from there every day, and it was exactly what she had worked hard for. So, it was utterly strange that she was so quiet, so indifferent to that information that would change her routine and give at least a little of her normal life back. It is true she had been quiet for the past week without apparent reason, but he had thought it was just her anxiety about the new job, the agony of having to wait to hear from someone else if your life is going to change or not. She didn’t want to talk about it, though, he had asked several times. So he had just let her be and hoped she would be in a better mood soon. Now he was starting to get worried.

“You don’t seem very happy about it.”

She was still staring at the TV, her glassy gaze seeming to express her mind in a way.

“I also got my period.”

She took another sip of her beer, leaving it for him to figure out what that meant. She usually did that when she didn’t want to explain things with every word because she didn’t have the courage to speak her thoughts aloud. She knew he was a good investigator, so she always left it for him to connect the dots and finish the puzzle. He didn’t have to investigate too much in this case, though, he understood what she meant - she had thought she was pregnant, had found out she wasn’t, got her answer back from the hospital on the same day. It was a mix of emotions and he didn’t even know if they were good or bad.

He turned to her, his eyes completely focused on her face, hoping she would turn on her side and look at him too. But she kept looking straight ahead, as if the TV or something else in front of her was about to give her answers about life and everything else, about why life happens the way it does without questioning if you’re ready for it or not. He had seen those eyes before, that mannerism. This usually happened when she was troubled, confused, in need of guidance that even her God could not provide.

He did his best to keep his voice low and soft, as a way of telling her that she could count on him, that she could confide in him with whatever it was she was feeling. It was not always easy to get things out of her and it worried him sometimes.

“Did you want to be pregnant?”

It was a question he had never asked; it was a topic that had no place in their conversations, even though he thought about it sometimes. He was sure she thought about it, too.

She set the beer bottle down on the table slowly. He could almost see her mind thinking, as if her skull were transparent and he could actually see her brain activate a few areas with brightly lit colors.

Then she sat back and took a deep breath, her fingers playing with each other as she laced her own hands together. She looked at him then and he was expecting tears, but he didn’t see any.

“I couldn’t be,” she vehemently spat out. Then, she paused, sighing, probably in search of better words to explain what was going on inside of her. “I mean, how could I?”

She absentmindedly touched[ her locket necklace, the one he had given her on William’s birthday](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/34566438), and he just knew what she was going to say next, even though she herself didn’t seem too sure about what her next words would be.

“This past week made me think of him. A lot. I only had one chance at being a mother and I let it slip away. I couldn’t help feeling like I didn’t deserve this baby, if it somehow had found a way of existing even though William had been so far the only exception to my reproductive condition.”

She looked away again and he knew it was because her eyes were starting to water.

He raised her chin with his index finger, making her look at him again. She almost smiled just to show that she was fine, but the smile never completely took shape because he knew she wasn’t fine.

“You were the best mother anyone could have. Hell, you ARE the best mother anyone could have. Having your heart ripped apart was more plausible to you than seeing your child in any form of danger. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what it is.”

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear to try and find something else to say, but he had used up all his cliché words of comfort for now.

They were in silence for a long, long while. She turned her gaze to her hands, examining her nails as if she hadn’t just manicured them this morning, as if they too held the answers to life and everything else. Then she spoke suddenly, and her voice startled him almost as much as the movie had before her, even though her voice was low, as if she were ashamed of saying the words she was saying aloud.

“I don’t know if I’m taking this job to help save children or to find him in them.”

Mulder had thought a lot about it since she told him she wanted to go back to medicine and take care of children. He was obviously supportive of her decision, but he couldn’t help wondering about her reasons, couldn’t help wondering how hurt she might get because of her personal history.

“You still have time to turn it down if your heart is not in it. But my personal opinion is that your heart is already in it, maybe it’s always been and maybe, just maybe, you’ll be saving children and they’ll be saving you in return.”

He kissed her forehead and she allowed a few tears to fall as she covered his hands with hers.

“I don’t deserve you.”

He chuckled, but more out of surprise than anything else.

“You’re stealing my line,” he smiled as he kissed her hair and he saw a shadow of a smile at the corner of her mouth before he continued, “Dana, you deserve it all! The complete package of whatever you want.”

He wasn’t used to using her given name, but he knew exactly when it was necessary. This was one of those times.

She looked into his eyes now and smiled weakly, confirming he was right. He had called her back to reality.

“You think so?”

“Scully, if there’s one person who deserves more than the world could offer, that person is you. Don’t get stuck in the thoughts of what life has undeservingly taken away from you. I know I get caught in there sometimes and it’s not a pretty place.”

He smiled back at her and her lips found his in slow motion. She gave him a lingering peck, in that way she did to say she was thankful. He hoped she knew how thankful he was too. For everything.

“Now how about we celebrate that new job of yours, one that you more than deserve, by the way?”

“I don’t know if I feel like celebrating.”

He nodded, wondering what to say next. They could continue talking about having kids, they could continue talking about William, but he knew those topics wouldn’t contribute to their lives in a positive way; he knew the more they talked about it, the sadder they would become and the more ‘what ifs’ would come up. Not everything could be made better by talking.

He watched as she tugged her feet under herself and lay her head on his shoulder. Her voice was soft when she spoke again.

“Will you miss me while I’m working?”

“Every single second that you’re away.”

“You’re a good liar.”

He chuckled.

“I am, but I’m not lying now.”

“Don’t you get tired of me sometimes?”

“Never.”

“Good. Because I never get tired of you either.”

She rested her hand on his and sighed, turning her attention back to the movie. He smiled to himself and turned his attention back to the movie as well, all signs of restlessness leaving his body as he thought of the comfort in her words and of the future to come. He didn’t suppose it was going to be an easy, perfect future, but he was sure they could make it work. They had always made everything work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want, you can read [Chapter 11 of Throughout The Years](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/34812083) after this story, since the next chapter is set some time before chapter 12. =)


	12. Taken for Granted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder and Scully are at the park and Mulder realizes a few things have changed. Set at some point after IWTB and before their breakup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was never supposed to be part of the Throughout The Years universe at all. In fact, I was going to post this fic one day before Nothing Lasts Forever aired, but I held back for some reason. After the episode aired, I realized that there were a few similarities between the episode and this story so I gave up on posting it altogether.  
> HOWEVER, now that I'm posting Between The Years, I realized the time gap between the last chapter I posted and the one I was going to post next would be huge, so this story ended up being perfect to reduce that gap and it is now officially part of this universe.  
> I guess you could also place this story before [Chapter 12 of Throughout The Years](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/34851056).
> 
> As usual, I hope you like it. ♥

**Taken for granted**

He sat on the grass, watching her from a distance as she came towards him with their popsicles in hand. The park was unusually crowded that day, so there wasn’t a single vacant bench and they had to settle for something less comfortable to sit on. He observed as the wind blew her hair slightly as she walked with a pretty smile on her face, almost as if someone had pinned her smile there. He wished she smiled more like that.

She reached him and handed him their popsicles so she could sit down.

“May I know why you’re grinning like that?” She asked, surprising him.

Until that very moment he hadn’t realized that his smile had been as wide as hers.

“I was just looking at you and thinking what a lucky bastard I am.”

She laughed a little and blushed, which was highly amusing to him. How could she still be blushing when he paid her a compliment after all these years?

“Well, I am pretty lucky myself,” she replied, licking her popsicle in a suggestive way that made him lick his lower lip unconsciously.

He kept staring at her while she ate, observing her eyes get lost somewhere among the crowd, her red hair with its slight curls at the very end falling over her shoulders and down her back, over the yellow tank top she had chosen for the day. He thought this was a look that suited her.

“Mulder, I can feel you staring,” she said, without looking at him.

He leaned in and kissed her cheek.

She smiled and looked at him, her face a little puzzled.

“What’s gotten into you today? I mean, it’s not that I don’t appreciate the attention, I actually love it, but I’m not used to receiving it so often…”

Is that what their relationship had come to? After all these years, had he taken her for granted? Suddenly he felt panic rise in his chest that he didn’t show her enough appreciation.

“Scully, I…”

She shook her head as if saying ‘it’s not important’, but she had to know he wouldn’t let it go.

“How long has it been since we last did this?” He asked.

“Coming to the park, you mean?”

“Yeah, just taking a day off from everything. Together.”

She looked around the park for a while, thoughtful.

“Two years, maybe?”

He was dumbfounded. She must be wrong. He started replaying the events in his head of the last time they had been there. It was a spring day, with not a cloud in the sky, until suddenly it started pouring and they had to run for cover. The laughter they had shared that day still poked his mind sometimes. He also remembered how they had made love in the car after that and how Scully had been watching out for prying eyes even though they had parked away from everybody else. Good times.

She was right though. It had been two years.

“I am sorry,” he said, lowering his head to look at his feet.

“What for?”

He sighed.

“For not being the man you deserve. You deserve better than me, Dana.”

It had been a long time since he had said something like that; it had been a long time since he last felt he had failed her for one reason or another.

She looked at him and he couldn’t read her eyes or the emotions he saw in them. He looked away in fear he saw something in there he didn’t like; he looked away in fear she might see something in his eyes she didn’t like. He didn’t know what his eyes reflected anymore.

He felt her hand make its way to his nape, caressing it softly and slowly, in that way only she knew how to do to sooth him.

“Hey, look at me.”

He obeyed promptly, as if her voice were the only thing that could make him do anything.

“Don’t you ever say that again, do you hear me?”

He shrugged, reluctant to nod or promise her anything.

“I mean it,” she said, her voice a little louder, like a mother making sure her kid understood that he would be in trouble if he didn’t do as he was told. “Must I remind you that I _chose_ to be with you?”

He shook his head.

“That’s exactly my point. You chose me while you could have everything else. You see that family over there?” he pointed at a family having a picnic. Two kids apparently playing catch and a dog running around with them, their mother laughing as she watched them, and the man he supposed was the husband smiling as he watched the mother. “You deserve _that_ , Scully.”

He took a bite of his popsicle and finished it in one go, realizing too late that by doing this he was showing her how anxious he really was, making her worry once again. She had been worried about him these days, about how he never got out of the house anymore, about how he didn’t make an effort to eat proper food anymore…. He had promised her he was okay, but now he knew he was only deceiving himself into thinking she believed him, because she definitely knew he wasn’t okay.

Their silence was long, and he wandered what was going on inside her head, but he didn’t look at her again. He heard her sigh, indicating she was about to say something she had said a thousand times already.

“Mulder, I may not have the kids and the dog, but I do have a husband who looks at me so adoringly sometimes that I feel like a goddess. I wouldn’t change what we have for anything else in the world.”

It was not that he had ignored the rest of her sentence, but one thing specifically called his attention before she even finished.

“Husband?” He asked, his voice showing his surprise with her choice of words.

She fought back a smile and nodded but didn’t say anything.

“When did you change your mind about that word? If I’m not mistaken, you always referred to us as ‘partners’. You’ve even corrected some people who called me your husband a few times.”

“Well, I’ve given it some thought over the last couple of years. Aren’t we the very definition of married? We live together, we sleep together, we frustrate each other at times, we disagree on a lot of things and we have fights about it, and most importantly, I love you and you love me in spite of all that. We don’t need papers to prove what we are. Not that we need a word to label what we are, either, but this one seems better than ‘partner’ sometimes.”

She licked the part of the popsicle that was melting in her hand as if she hadn’t said anything important and he watched intently, letting the information sink in. There were a couple of things that weren’t lost on him while she spoke, one of them being that she had been thinking about their relationship status for a while and had never shared her thoughts with him (Why?); and the second thing was actually from the first thing she had said, when she first mentioned the word ‘husband’.

“Do I really look at you adoringly only sometimes?”

She sighed, as if this were something difficult for her to admit, but she eventually nodded.

“Mulder, we’ve been living together for what now, 10 years? It’s perfectly normal that we don’t look at each other like that all the time.”

“Well, Scully, I adore the shit out of you. Every second of every day. I just want you to know that.”

He saw her chin waver in that way it did when she was about to cry, and he realized now that maybe she had been waiting to hear it for so long that she had given up hopes. Her emotions showed that she was surprised his words had finally come again. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers to stop her tears, and, when he pulled away, he saw he had been successful because she was smiling a little. She touched his face with her free hand, her eyes smiling along with her mouth.

“I love you. Never forget that, okay?”

He smiled back at her, nodded, and then looked down at her hand.

“I’ve heard it’s actually better to eat popsicles before they melt.”

She laughed and put a good chunk in her mouth, suggestively. When she released it, she smiled slyly.

“Since you finished yours already, I guess you’ll have to watch me finish mine…” She said, licking the length of the popsicle.

“You’re cruel, Scully. Very cruel.”

She laughed at that and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

For a moment he wished they could stay stuck in this moment forever, wrapped in this bubble of happiness that he hadn’t known he was missing. He tried to remember every single detail of this day for the future, just in case he forgot at some point again what happiness really felt like. And if for some reason his mind failed him in the future, he hoped Scully would be there to remind him in that way only she knew how. He promised to himself right then to never take her for granted again.


	13. Hopelessly Hopeful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder and Scully have a conversation over the phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, they have broken up already. If you want to read what went on before that, I wrote about it on [Chapter 12](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/34851056), [13](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/35176508) (probably my peak as a writer) and [14](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/35505501) of Throughout The Years. If you don't want to read them, it's fine too because this story doesn't mention anything that happened in those chapters, so it won't make a difference.  
> This story is set after Founder's Mutation and I hope you like it. ♥

**Hopelessly Hopeful**

He had lied to her.

Not just a white lie, but a big fat lie.

How many times had he sat down at this same table with William’s picture in his hands? How many times, even before all went to hell and Scully left, had he wondered about his whereabouts? How many times had he really wished to bury the topic into the back of his head and move on with his life?

He had lied and he was aware of it. This awareness just came to him now, though.

He picked up the phone, his fingers dialing with agility and as if they had a memory of their own. He was sure that, even if for some reason he forgot the numbers, his fingers would know how to call her anyway.

One ring.

Two.

Three.

_If she doesn’t pick up after the fifth, I’m going to hang up._

Six.

Why didn’t he give up?

He couldn’t, not anymore. He had given up too many things in his life already.

“Hello?”

A panting voice answered the phone, an unmistakably soft and comforting voice he would recognize anywhere, even if it had changed in tone since he first heard it 24 years back.

He realized his mouth couldn’t produce any sound now, even if he tried. He should just hang up, this was stupid. He should have wallowed in his feelings alone, as usual.

But his fingers couldn’t touch the ‘end call’ button. He trusted his fingers to do that, but they didn’t. It was as if they were telling him to wait, to give himself a chance.

“Mulder, can you please say something just so I know you’re okay?”

He wasn’t really surprised that she knew it was him calling; after all, caller IDs existed for a reason.

“I lied before,” he said. It was why he had called, after all.

He didn’t expect her to understand what he meant with just three words, but it was the best he could do for now.

He heard her sigh and a sound on the background that seemed to be of things being put on a hard surface. She had probably just come back from grocery shopping. It was Wednesday, after all. He still remembered her routine vividly.

“I know,” she said simply after a while.

It was a surprise to him that she knew immediately what he was talking about, but it was an even greater surprise that she had seen through him. He had thought those days when they could see each other like that were gone.

“How?”

“Just the same way I knew it was you calling when your breath reached my ears.”

He could almost hear a soft smile on her lips. He nodded, forgetting she couldn’t see him. It hadn’t been the caller ID after all.

“I wish I had gotten to know him. He seemed like a great kid.”

“He was indeed…”

She let her sentence trail off and he was suddenly worried that they shouldn’t be talking about this. No, she wasn’t a fragile little girl, but he knew this specific wound was hard for her to keep opening, especially because it would never heal.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called.”

“No, Mulder, it’s alright. We never did talk about him, did we?”

“No, we didn’t.”

“You know what his first word was?”

He shook his head and, again, forgot that she couldn’t see him. But he knew she was picturing him in her mind as well, he knew she had just seen him shake his head. He was certain of it when she spoke again without waiting for a reply.

“Daddy.”

He almost asked her to repeat what she had said because that certainly wasn’t a possibility, but she had said it clearly.

“How is that even possible?”

“I had a picture of yours that I would show him. I would tell him every day that daddy was somewhere else to keep us safe. He would just look at the picture first, then he would start touching it, then, one random day, he pointed at the picture and said ‘daddy’. I thought I was hearing things, imagining it, projecting my wishes into my baby’s babbling, but he repeated it several times. I had never missed you more than I did on that day.”

He heard her voice cracking. He knew the memories flooding her brain now were not that beautiful. He wished he could undo them all.

Something fell on his fingers and he realized she was not the only one crying. He wiped his tears away from his face with his free hand.

“Thank you for telling me.”

“Thank you for waiting this long to hear this.”

They were silent for a moment, but he knew she was still there, listening in the hope that he had something more to say. He did, but he wasn’t sure how to phrase it or even if he should be phrasing it at all. He blurted it out before he could regret it.

“Scully, do you think things between us would have been different if…”

She didn’t let him finish.

“If I hadn’t given him up?”

“No, if I hadn’t left then.”

She sighed and he didn’t know if she was pondering her words or only trying to find a polite response.

Finally, her words came, her voice still a little cracked, as if she were trying hard to control her emotions.

“All I know is that losing you to death once again would have broken me beyond repair, so it was the right decision to make at the time.”

“But you lost me, eventually.”

“Not to death. It’s all that matters.”

He weighed her words carefully, felt them in his bones, wondered if he should have phrased his sentence a little differently because, in the end, it was not a one-sided situation. He had lost her too and probably long before she even left. But she was right, at least they were both still alive, still keeping each other company, still working together and answering phone calls just to hear each other’s voice for a moment, just to remember what it was like to feel cared for and loved.

Loved.

This kept him up at night at times, this uncertainty of what they meant to each other now that they didn’t share a life anymore. He knew what he felt, but how did she feel?

He heard noise on the other end, and he imagined she still had the phone hooked to her ear, but she had now decided to sit and wait for whatever it was he was going to say. It was what she always did. After all these years and after all the things they had been through, she was still willing to listen even when he wasn’t sure he had any words left in him.

The words came out as they formed in his brain, but his hesitant tone was more out of concern for its content than out of not knowing what to say.

“Scully, do you still…” He stopped, thinking he wouldn’t be able to continue, but before he could add a ‘never mind’, she surprised him.

“Yes,” she took a deep breath before she continued, “Some things change, Mulder, but some others don’t.”

There was no mistaking what she had said or even her tone. His heart raced. He looked for words to continue this conversation, to maybe find a way of acting on her words, but his mind went blank and he somehow knew this was still not the right time. They still had too many demons to fight, too many ghosts to exorcise, too many pasts to leave behind.

He practically whispered into the phone when his next words came.

“If I could turn back time, I would.”

“That would be an X-File I would be glad to try and solve.”

He heard the smile back in her voice and he couldn’t help smiling himself.

“There’s always the future, though, Mulder. Remember that.”

Hope. She was giving him hope.

“I will,” he replied, just to make sure that she understood he was willing to try again when the time came.

She seemed to smile again as she said, ‘Good night, Mulder’, and he wondered if she too felt a little less hopeless than she had felt before he called.

His ‘Good night’ was just as warm as hers and, after the line went dead, he spent a long time just looking at the phone in his hand with a smile on his face.

There was no doubt in his mind now about what they had both become against all odds: two hopelessly hopeful people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still considering if there is only one or two more stories to be posted here because the next one is too smutty for my own good and I'm not sure if it fits my style, BUT I'll be back in a few days with more anyway.   
> If you want, you can now read [Chapter 15](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/35759286) and [16](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/36214023) of Throughout The Years.  
> Thanks once again for reading! ♥


	14. Inflections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder gives Scully a hand. (And it's probably what you're thinking).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, remember that smutty story I mentioned I wasn't sure I was going to post? Here it is.  
> I only had fun writing smut about three times in my life and this was one of them, so I hope you enjoy reading it too. =)

**Inflections**

He woke up to the smell of pancakes all around the house, in a familiar setting he had forgotten could exist. But it was real. She was here. She was back.

He went down the stairs still yawning but led by the smell that came from the kitchen. She was wearing only her panties and a camisole, humming a song he couldn’t recognize while she poured the pancake batter onto the pan. It had been a long time since he had last seen her so happy and so free. He smiled to himself and stopped at the door a little, watching, taking in the view before walking to her.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and she seemed a little startled, as if she were too lost inside her own head to have heard him come in, but she relaxed into his arms as he lowered his lips to her ear and kissed it over her hair.

“Good morning.”

She looked over her shoulder quickly and smiled at him, then gave him a quick peck on the lips.

“Good morning.”

She turned her attention back to the pan and flipped the pancake.

“I missed this,” he whispered in her ear.

After one long and cold winter, she had finally come back to him, finally come back home, bringing along all the light and happiness she had taken with her when she left, and he was still getting used to the fact that he now could just hug her like this again and not wake up right after.

She just took a quick glance at him with a suspicious smile on her face and then she looked back at the pan.

One of his hands slid up to her breast and he slowly palmed it, feeling her nipple harden under his touch.

“Mulder?”

A question. This ‘Mulder’ meant, “didn’t we just have sex a couple of hours ago?”

He flicked her nipple between his fingers, and she closed her eyes quickly and then opened them again, probably remembering she had to pay attention to what she was doing. Then, she transferred the pancake from the pan to the plate where a few other pancakes already waited.

He took this opportunity to let his other hand play with the hem of her underwear.

“Mulder?”

A warning. This ‘Mulder’ meant that, if he continued, they would have burnt pancakes for breakfast. He had never tried burnt pancakes, maybe it was about time he did.

His fingers made their way into her panties and she gasped at the cool touch of his fingers against her flesh and, although she didn’t say anything as she tried to focus on pouring more of the batter onto the pan, he felt her legs open ever so slightly.

He quickly found her slit and ventured a little inside, the pad of his fingers being met with wetness. A small, involuntary gasp left her lips and he ventured a little deeper, hearing his name escape her lips again as he did so.

“Muulder”

This time she prolonged the first syllable in a louder tone, but almost whispered the last part. This way of saying ‘Mulder’ meant, “I’m serious, you’d better stop before our breakfast is ruined.” Maybe he should let her know that he didn’t mind having his breakfast ruined if it meant she was having an orgasm around his fingers. Besides, the inflection she used could also mean that she didn’t really want him to stop.

His now slick fingers went up a little and touched her clit, just as she flipped the pancake and almost made it fall out of the pan.

“Muldeeer”

This one meant frustration, but he couldn’t be sure if it was frustration at him being so annoying and persistent or frustration because she wasn’t being able to resist him. He needed to make sure which one it was.

He circled her clit slowly and she pressed her backside against his erection, trying to gain some balance and tease him in the process.

His fingers went inside of her again and he knew he had won. She moaned loudly and sunk her upper teeth into her lower lip, succumbing to her pleasure and to his ministrations. He pumped in and out of her, faster, watching as his name slipped from her tongue in different ways between gasps.

“Mul…” was the first she tried to say, then came, “Muldeeeer….” and then, “Mulderrrrr….”

The inflections were all different, but they all meant the same - just a sign that he should go on and that she was close. He himself was breathing hard, and he had to control himself a little because there was something still missing, something he was almost sure she needed. He glued his lips to her ear again.

“I’m so very glad you’re home!”

His words were almost a groan in her ear, but still very clear.

It happened instantaneously: he felt her shudder and spasm around his fingers. This was one of the many benefits of knowing her so well – he knew that words sometimes worked better for her than any other touch. Sometimes dirty talk would do, but most times what she really liked was to hear him pour his heart out in her ears.

She came out of her orgasm slowly, panting, trying to balance herself by holding on to his forearm. By the time she caught her breath, the smell in the air was almost palpable – not of sex, but of something that had been cooking for far too long.

“Congratulations!” She said in a sarcastic tone, still panting a little, “I guess you’ll have burnt pancakes for breakfast, Mulder.”

She turned off the stove and sighed as he slowly brought his fingers out of her underwear.

“I would eat 200 burnt pancakes if it meant I’d get to make you come at least once.”

She grinned slyly and he took his fingers to his mouth, licking them clean while she watched.

“Besides, your taste is way better than pancakes.”

He smirked at her as she turned in his arms and her hand palmed his erection.

“If I had known, I wouldn’t have left the bed this morning, but I was starving and craving pancakes for some reason. What do you say we go upstairs again after we eat?”

He nodded, not sure if he felt hungrier for pancakes or for her.

“We don’t even need to go upstairs.”

He captured her lips in his and wished she weren’t so hungry, because knowing they would have to eat first was almost torture.

When he let go, she smiled at him and sighed contently before she spoke.

“I’m glad I’m home, too. Very.”

She gave him one last peck before she walked back to the sink and took the plate full of pancakes, making sure she left the burnt one out.

It was a good new beginning, he thought. Leaving the burned things out – be it bridges or pancakes – was a very good start. Even better if it included the inflections he had come to know so well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there's only one chapter/story left now and it's the only one that is not completely written. Therefore, it might take me a while to update, but I promise I will.  
> Huge thanks to all of you who have been reading and commenting. All of your feedback really helps me become a better writer.


	15. The X-Files

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder and Scully talk about some of their favorite cases.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said that [chapter/story 7](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19850302/chapters/47326216) would be connected to another story/chapter coming later on? This is said story.  
> So, if you haven't read it yet, I suggest you read it before reading this one because you will understand the reason behind something that is revealed here.  
> This story is set a little after the [last chapter of Throughout The Years](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883697/chapters/36599649), but you don't need to read that one to understand this.
> 
> I would like to thank my friend [patigwblack](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patigwblack) for the prompt that worked perfectly with what I had in mind to close this set of stories. Pati, espero que esta história seja pelo menos um pouquinho parecida com o que você tinha em mente e que, se não for, espero que pelo menos te faça sorrir. ♥
> 
> Also, thank you G. for the never-ending support and for believing in my writing and language skills even when I didn't believe in them myself.
> 
> And last, but not least, a huge thank you to everyone who has been reading my words. I put a piece of my heart and my soul into every story, so it's good to know those pieces are well received.
> 
> Without further ado, I hope you enjoy this final story ♥

**The X-Files**

The pen was resting on the page lazily, as if waiting for instructions so it could continue its work. Mulder couldn’t think of anything else to say though. He had written an introduction, a note about the nature of his work, facts about when the X-Files had been found and by whom, but he couldn’t go on to the actual story, to the actual beginning of everything. Should he do it in chronological order? Should he just write whatever came to mind and edit everything later? He had found comfort in an actual notebook instead of typing the words on his computer. Somehow, words came out better when he had a pen in his hands. But even now, words and ideas just didn’t come, even as he picked a sunflower seed from the pack beside him and chewed on it in hopes it would help his brain work.

As if on cue, he heard the screen door close with a click behind him and he looked over his shoulder to see Scully coming his way slowly, a small smile on her lips as she approached the wooden bench where he sat in the porch of their unremarkable house.

He put his notebook aside and patted his lap, watching as she arched an eyebrow to his invitation.

“Come on, Laura, we’re married now.”

She couldn’t help chuckling and she looked suspiciously at his lap.

“Well, Rob, technically, we are not yet married,” she said, rubbing her swollen belly as if concluding her thoughts. “Besides, I don’t think I could feel anywhere near comfortable sitting on your lap right now.”

He faked a sad face.

“I don’t know what it is about this sentence that makes you reject me every time.”

She chuckled.

“Well, not _every_ time. There were some exceptions. Very good ones, I might add.”

“And even thinking about those exceptions doesn’t make you change your mind?”

“Tell your legs they’ll have me back once your daughter is out.”

He shrugged and chuckled, moving his notebook back to his lap so she could sit beside him.

“Finally writing?” She asked as she sat.

“Yeah, I wrote a few things, but not enough to even begin anything.”

He sighed, and then he had an idea. Some brainstorming could do him good.

“Hey, Scully, what’s your favorite X-File?”

She considered his question before answering.

“I don’t know, Mulder…”

“You don’t have a favorite?”

“No, I have too many!” She laughed and he waited as she thought further. “I liked that one in which apparently the guy could control the weather.”

“What do you mean ‘apparently’, Scully? The guy COULD control the weather.”

“Well, if you say so…”

He wasn’t surprised at all that she still denied having seen the things she had even after so many years had passed, but he was curious as to why it was one of her favorites.

“Why do you like it so much?”

She looked at him as if considering if she should say something or not, but eventually she decided she should.

“The X-File itself was a fun one to try and solve, despite my irritability at those two for not realizing sooner they belonged together.”

This made Mulder laugh.

“Familiar, huh?”

She chuckled and then looked straight ahead again.

“I already knew I was in love with you back then, but I wouldn’t admit it to myself. The case helped me come to terms with my feelings, in a way.”

She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, as if she were embarrassed of saying this aloud.

“Why am I hearing this just now?”

“Well, you never asked…” She only turned her head slightly towards him to continue, “How about your favorite X-File?”

He sat back, thinking. Like her, he also had too many favorites to even begin to list them.

“Even though I was disappointed with how it turned out, I like that one where we thought we were chasing Big Blue, but it turned out to be just an alligator.”

“You mean that case where my dog got eaten?”

Oh, shit! He had totally forgotten about that. He should change the subject soon.

“I also liked that one from right when you started working with me, the one with the Jersey Devil.”

“You mean that one where the creature that was certainly NOT the Jersey Devil was killed in the end?”

“You’re no fun to play with.”

“It’s my job to always contradict you, isn’t it? It was why I was assigned to work with you in the first place.”

“And also the reason why I fell in love with you.”

It was her turn to be surprised.

“Why am I hearing this just now?”

“Well, you never asked…”

She smiled fondly at him.

“You know a case I surprisingly like? That one time we were stranded in a Hurricane in Florida and I had to deliver a baby while a water monster threatened to kill us,” she said, almost laughing, “Am I crazy for thinking it is bizarrely funny?”

“I told you back then we were going to laugh about it one day.”

“And you were right for once.”

“I was ALWAYS right, Scully.”

“You know, Mulder, maybe we should hack into the Bureau files and read back those reports because I believe _I_ was the one who was right most of the time.”

“How about that time we faced vampires and you thought that sheriff was hot? Were you right, then?”

“I absolutely was. You were just jealous and you wouldn’t admit it. Also, they were not vampires. We still don’t know what happened that day.”

“Wow, Scully, I can’t believe you’re still denying all this after so many years!”

“And I can’t believe you still get angry about it after so many years.”

She was clearly amused by his irritation and he felt that annoying feeling he had sometimes: that he couldn’t love her more than he already did, and yet, she kept surprising him by showing him he could.

“But you know what?” she continued, “I think there were a couple of X-Files that made me less skeptical. Do you remember that one with the invisible body and the supposed genie? That was a case that made me happy.”

The word ‘supposed’ was not lost on him.

“You’re skeptical even when you believe, aren’t you?”

She shrugged.

“What can I do? It’s who I am.”

“Please, never change,” he said in a low voice.

“I won’t,” she replied decisively.

“I liked that case too, by the way, even though at some point I made you disappear from the face of the Earth. I’m glad you don’t remember that part.”

She smirked.

“All I remember is that you had fun with that one. And I remember how selfless you were in the end, giving up on your last wish to satisfy her wish. I hope it worked and she’s out there somewhere now, getting old along with the rest of us. If she was indeed a genie, of course.”

“Of course,” he whispered, pretending to roll his eyes.

She smiled at him and he smiled back, and then she fixed her gaze at some point in the nothingness that was the surroundings of where they lived, rubbing her belly slightly, lost in thought for a while.

He looked in the same direction her eyes seemed to have settled and he saw the bunch of roses she had planted the day after she came back home. He remembered what roses meant to her, so he had known immediately the reason why she had planted them. It was the same reason why the idea that came to his mind now, as he watched her rub her belly again, seemed to be the most perfect idea he had ever had.

“Hey, Scully. I think I just found a name for the baby.”

He picked another sunflower seed and chewed on it, observing as she looked back at him, seeming to want to roll her eyes, but without properly doing so because she didn’t do that anymore.

“I thought you were out of Star Trek names.”

“Oh, but I am.”

“Okay, so what show is it from now?”

“No show. Or maybe if there were a show named ‘The X-Files’, it would have come out of that one.”

The reason why he thought it could be from a show named ‘The X-Files’ was the fact that their very story was an X-File. It was still hard to believe they were going to be parents again this late in life and against all odds.

Not knowing what was going on inside his head, she frowned, although the smile at the corner of her mouth told him she was thinking about all the people they had met in over 20 years of work to see if she came to a conclusion by herself. He almost chuckled as she tried hard to think of something, but he held himself back and allowed her some time to think. After a while, she clearly gave up.

“Go ahead, I came up with nothing.”

“Rose,” he said simply, waiting for her reaction. He thought it was the perfect name, but, as usual, he could be wrong.

He knew he wasn’t, though, because, as the words registered in her brain, he saw her eyes water and her smile widen. She was clearly thinking of the same thing he was.

“New beginnings…” she said softly.

“And ultimate sign of love,” he completed.

“Have we become those annoying couples who finish each other’s sentences?”

“We might have, yes…” He kept looking at her, waiting. She still hadn’t answered with proper words. “So, what do you say?”

“Well, it seems that you’re right for the second time in your life.” She reached for his hand and took it to her belly, where she laid her own hand on top of his. “Rose,” she whispered to herself, as if getting accustomed to the name, as if telling their daughter that she now had a proper name.

She stroked his hand absentmindedly and they were in that comfortable silence for a while, as she got lost in her own thoughts and as he thought of how brainstorming had turned out better than he had expected. Now he had a name and many ideas running around his brain.

“Hey, Scully, do you think people will think it’s fiction if I publish this book under the name of Rob Petrie?”

She chortled at his words.

“I believe everyone will think it’s fiction no matter under what name you publish it, Mulder.”

He laughed.

“I can’t argue with you on that.”

“What are you going to call it?”

“The X-Files, probably. There’s not much room left for creativity in my brain now that I’ve come up with ‘Rose’.”

“That’s a good name, though. Simple, but self-explanatory. It is good.”

“It is indeed.”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. This was the full circle he had always looked for, not the full circle he thought he had come to when he was abducted. This was the full circle they deserved. In the end, it all began and ended with the X-Files, like it had always meant to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, my name for the baby that only one or two people knew is finally out lol. It wasn't even supposed to be in this piece, but I figured it would be better to include it here just in case I decide not to continue this series. (There are two more stories planned, but you never know).  
> Once again, thank you everyone for reading, commenting and leaving Kudos. It means the world to me! ♥


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